


Brothers of a Blood

by Lumeleo



Series: The Three Samurai [3]
Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, M/M, Originally Posted on LiveJournal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2020-01-24 04:21:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 37,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18563815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lumeleo/pseuds/Lumeleo
Summary: When Ryoga stayed behind in Japan when his brother and father returned to America, he didn't know just what he was getting himself into. It turns out he can do more than he thought for his suspected baby brother -- sooner than he thought. Not everything goes smoothly.





	1. Cold

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally posted on my LiveJournal back in 2010. I have no intention of finishing this version of the story, and am in fact rewriting the idea from scratch, but I wanted to post this version for the sake of, well, archiving.

It was, Ryoga decided, biting back a curse as he dug through the pockets of his jacket, exactly his luck for the batteries of his MP3 player to run out while he was out on a run. Of course they couldn't run out while he was lazing around at home, or perhaps at a store where he could easily pick up some more. No, it just had to be while he was out, well past the closing time of most stores, so far away from home it would be just as easy for him to simply finish his planned route as it would be to turn back. As the search of his pockets turned up no miraculously forgotten extra batteries, he sighed, resigning himself to running on in silence. It was somewhat boring, never mind unpleasant as he was used to his constant background music, but it wasn't like it was going to kill him or anything.

Turning a corner, he made note of the somewhat unusual shade of red the house to the left had been painted. He knew that house; apparently he was still exactly where he was supposed to be. He was getting rather good at reading his surroundings here, mainly thanks to the long walks and runs he took every day, altering his route to make sure he got the most out of the area. By now he could easily make his way around the neighbourhood, finding the stores and parks and other such things with little difficulty and still making his way home. He knew how to get to the place with the largest variety of Ponta available, just in case he felt like trying something new, and the one store where he'd accidentally spoken English at first and now didn't dare switch to Japanese because the elderly owner had been so absolutely delighted at having a young foreigner visit his store. Not that he wasn't still technically a foreigner, but the old man was so childishly happy at being able to speak English with him Ryoga just didn't have the heart to reveal that he spoke Japanese just as well.

One might have argued that the runs were in part a way to escape the silence of the house. Nanako was busy with her studies or her friends most of the time, so it was mostly just Ryoga around now that Ryoma and Nanjirou had returned to America. For a while he had thought he'd go along, but then decided against it. Someone had to be around in Japan to look after things, especially if the issue with Dan turned into anything more than suspicions. He trusted they'd contact him if there was a turn for the worse. Whatever he might have thought about the man, Nanjirou was still his father, and he didn't exactly want to be on the other side of the ocean when the man finally died.

Ryoma had again raised an argument about his staying, too, but Nanjirou had flat-out refused to let him stay. Ryoga might have felt insulted that Nanjirou wanted to spend as much time with Ryoma as possible before his death yet had no trouble with Ryoga staying, but he knew it wasn't like that. Nanjirou and he hadn't been especially close, well, practically ever, and though they had been fixing things lately he supposed it was for the better if they weren't getting on each other's nerves constantly. Ryoma, however, was Nanjirou's little boy, the one he had raised from a baby to be his great and glorious heir. Of course Nanjirou would feel more reluctant to let go of him. And besides, Ryoga rather suspected that whatever Ryoma said about the matter, he wouldn't be entirely happy spending the last year of his father's life away from him.

Taking the now mute headphones off his ears, Ryoga folded them and put them off in the pocket containing the player itself, zipping it up. Continuing on his way, he now made note of the faint noises of the night. This wasn't that noisy a neighbourhood, true, and it was already fairly late, but it was just never entirely silent in a city like this. His own footsteps were still the loudest sound in his ears as he turned around yet another corner.

To his surprise, Ryoga saw someone else walking down the street ahead of him. He hadn't really expected to run into a lot of people in his late run. What surprised him even more as he got closer was that the figure was most certainly not an adult, not unless they were spectacularly small even for a Japanese. What was a kid doing out alone at this time?

The other didn't seem to be walking too fast, he noted, even Ryoga's lazy run catching up quickly. As he got closer he noted that the figure was a boy, judging by the clothes, and too lightly dressed at that. It was still early autumn, yes, and the days were still quite warm, but the nights were occasionally quite chilly and this one was turning out to be another one of those. Certainly not the time for someone to be slouching around in nothing but shorts and a light hooded sweater.

Getting to the boy's side, all it took was one glance to stop him right in his tracks. The boy's face was downcast and tear-stained, but more importantly, it was very familiar. "...Dan-kun?"

"Eh?" Apparently startled, Dan looked up at him. "Ryoga-san? What -- what are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same about you," Ryoga said, shaking his head. "This is no time for kids to be out and about on their own. Are you heading home at least?"

Dan's rather miserable expression wavered a bit, then he shook his head. "...No. I... don't think I should..."

Okay. Definitely worrying, that. Ryoga wanted to frown, but forced himself to appear at least reasonably calm instead. "Well, in that case, would you mind if I walked with you for a bit?" he asked. "My MP3-player ran out of battery and I'm not used to running alone in silence."

"...Sure." Dan sniffled, rubbing his eyes with his sleeve. "Not sure if I'm very good company right now, though desu..."

"Doesn't matter," Ryoga replied, patting the boy on the shoulder. "I'll just be good company for both of us, ne?"

The chuckle he received in response was rather faint. Okay, time to do something... but what?

"I've been getting to know the neighbourhood lately," he said after a moment of silence, falling into a step beside the younger boy. "It's been kind of odd, staying here after Chibisuke and our father returned to America... I've been to Japan before, but I've never actually lived here before. I know the basic customs and such, but I'm constantly sure I'm doing something wrong somehow." Laughing, he shook his head. "At least whenever someone looks too disapproving, I can just switch to English and play the ignorant gaijin."

"That... might be hard, I suppose," Dan admitted quietly. "I wouldn't really know, though... I've never been anywhere abroad desu."

"Really? You should go sometimes," Ryoga said, grinning. "Not necessarily America or anything, just... somewhere different. It's always worth it, going somewhere you don't know yet. You get all kind of new experiences."

"I suppose." Dan gave another faint chuckle, shaking his head. "Don't know if I want to go anytime soon, though... it's hard enough being small in Japan; people in America must be absolutely huge."

"There are plenty of people in America, tiny and huge and average," Ryoga replied lightly. "Though I've got to say, the so-called Japanese food just doesn't come even close to compare to the real thing."

"Why are you here anyway?" Dan asked after a while. "I mean… didn't you say you were going to return to America?"

"Yeah, well, I kinda changed my plans," Ryoga replied with a slight chuckle. "You see, I'm going to start high school here next year… so I figured I could just as well come over a little early. Figure out the whole living in Japan thing, learn to look after myself and the house while Nanako's busy. After all, if I'm going to go to school and keep an eye on Chibisuke, too, I'd better be able to keep us both alive."

"Echizen-kun's coming back for real?" Dan's eyes actually brightened a bit, however teary they still were.

"Well… it's not certain yet," Ryoga replied. "Our father doesn't want him to come over just yet, but… eventually, he does want to return." He would return, once Nanjirou was… out of the way. Ryoga felt guilty for even thinking that, though he knew Nanjirou himself had used those words once or twice while they had been discussing these plans.

"Oh." Dan's shoulders slumped again. "I was hoping…"

"As I said, he'll come back eventually. Just probably not in time to start next year on schedule." He paused for a while, looking at the boy. Dan really looked miserable, more so than just for being disappointed... Of course, the tears and such should have been something of a clue, too. "Hey... are you all right?"

"No desu," Dan murmured, eyes again cast down. "But don't worry about it... it's nothing you could help."

"Oh." Ryoga paused, then ventured a guess, "Your parents?" Well, that was a rather obvious conclusion, wasn't it.

Dan shivered, then nodded silently. "They... were fighting again," he said after Ryoga had waited another moment. "Saying all kind of things... my little sister was getting scared; she couldn't go to sleep with them fighting desu. I went downstairs to see what they were shouting about now... but when my Dad saw me, he..." Another shiver, and a shake of the messy-haired head. "He told me to get out of the house..."

"I'm sure he didn't mean it," Ryoga sighed. "Or, well, he might have meant it at the moment, but I'm sure he's already regretted it by now." He couldn't help but reach a hand to ruffle Dan's hair. It was just... automatic, almost. "It'll be all right, you know. Just you wait and see."

"I sure hope so..." Dan worried his lower lip. "It's just... I don't even know why he's so angry at me. I haven't done anything desu..." His voice trailed off. He cleared his throat, then added, "Sorry. I shouldn't be whining to you like that."

"No, no, it's not a bother or anything. Just talk if you think it'll help." Ryoga set a hand on Dan's shoulder. "Or... you know what? Let's both go to my place. I'm sure you'll feel better when you're all warm and comfy. We can talk once we've gotten some hot chocolate into you. Just looking at you is making me freeze."

Dan blinked. "...Are you sure it wouldn't be a bother?" he asked hesitantly.

"I wouldn't be offering if it was, now would I?" Ryoga asked, winking as though to a fellow conspirator. "Come on. I'm pretty sure there's cake, too. It's definitely better than sulking all on your own out at the streets."

After another moment of hesitation, Dan finally nodded mutely. Ryoga smiled at him, then veered them in the right direction at the next street corner.

They didn't talk a lot on the rest of the way, Dan following silently as Ryoga showed the way. The boy didn't complain as he fit his pace to Ryoga's, who was picking up speed; a good thing, Ryoga decided, as moving quicker both kept the boy warm and would get them out of the cold sooner. He hadn't been joking when he said he felt like freezing just looking at the kid. Those shorts weren't too long at all.

Finally they came to the house with the surname, "Echizen" by the gate. Dan seemed to hesitate again, but then followed Ryoga's beckoning to go inside.

"I'm home," Ryoga called out, despite knowing full well Nanako was not home. Pausing to take off his shoes, he then put on his slippers before setting out the smallest pair of guest slippers for Dan. Opening his jacket to get it off, he found himself musing at how very Japanese he was being. Maybe this wasn't quite as hopeless as he had thought.

Dan was shivering as he pulled on the slippers, a sure sign that something had to be done to warm the kid up. Beckoning him to follow again, Ryoga led him to the living room, showing him to the couch.

"I'll go and get a blanket or two first of all, you must be freezing," he said. Dan didn't protest, merely nodded a bit. Okay, a definite sign of freezing if the nice and polite Japanese wasn't even complaining about being too much trouble or something.

It took him a bit of digging around, but Ryoga did soon manage to unearth a couple of nice, warm blankets in a cupboard, taking them back to the living room. Dan was still sitting at the exact same spot he had been when Ryoga had left, curled up in the corner of the couch. He looked even smaller than usual. Like Ryoga's protective instincts hadn't already been tugged at enough...

"Here you go," he said, smiling as he gave the blankets to Dan. "Wrap yourself up in these, okay? I'll be back in just a moment with the hot chocolate." After receiving another mute nod in response, he hurried off to the kitchen. Mission Make Kid Warm was well underway; he shouldn't allow himself to dally one bit.

While waiting for the milk to heat up, he went through the cupboards and fridge, occasionally pausing to stir the heating liquid so it wouldn't burn. He managed to find not only the cake, cutting up a couple of slices and setting them on little plates with spoons, but a couple of different kinds of cookies, too, setting them out on another plate. Hopefully sugar would make the boy feel a bit better. Once the hot chocolate was ready, he poured it into two cups, then set both them and the plates of offerings on a tray, carrying it back to the living room.

Dan had apparently been very obedient, as Ryoga found him curled up in the blankets. The boy's eyes widened as he saw all the things set out on the tray. "I don't want to be trouble," he murmured.

"Nonsense," Ryoga replied, grinning. "This just gives me an excuse to eat too many sugary goods to be healthy~ Now, don't you dare talk before you're warm!"

For a moment they ate in silence. Finally, Dan apparently decided he was warm enough, the half-empty cup held in his hands as he started to speak. "I think... my Dad has finally decided I'm not his desu," he murmured, looking down at his drink. "I mean, he suspected it before, but now he seems absolutely convinced... and Mum's not even denying it. I mean, not as much as she should be desu..."

"I... see." Maybe she wasn't denying it because doing so would have been a lie. Ryoga didn't say that aloud, though; the boy certainly knew it well enough even without any reminders. "And he's angry at you?"

"Right..." Dan sniffled a bit. "It's just... what am I supposed to do? It's not like I can change things like what I look like or what I'm good at or that I'm left-handed when nobody in his family has ever been desu. And... why is he angry at me, anyway? Of course I don't want him to be angry at my Mum, either, but... it's not like I decided to be born, right? Or got to choose who my parents are. I didn't call anyone and say, 'Hey, Taichi here, I'd like to be born seven months from now, of course I know it's too early but I want to get out as fast as I can, oh yeah and give me my Mum's genes but not her boyfriend's because I don't want to end up with that stupid nose desu.'"

Ryoga couldn't help but laugh at the thought of such a call. Then, however, he paused. "...Her boyfriend's?"

"Yeah... my parents, they, ah... they got married because of me," Dan sniffled. "They hadn't planned to get married for a while yet, but when I was on the way, their parents made them do so. I never knew that before... but lately, I've heard it all too often desu." He shook his head. "It's just another thing Dad's blaming me for..."

"Dan-kun..." Ryoga sighed. "It's not your fault, you know. Your father is just angry and upset at what he believes to be true, and he's taking it out on you. He's wrong in that. Even if your mum might have done something, ah, unadvisable, it's not your fault. He's raised you as his own until now; that shouldn't change just because he now thinks you might not have his genes after all."

"I know desu," Dan said quietly. "But still... he told me to get out of his house. He doesn't want to see me desu. I guess..." he sniffled again before continuing, "if it's true that Mum... cheated on him, I guess I'm just a reminder of it..."

"Maybe. But that still doesn't mean he was right in doing what he did." Ryoga frowned. "...You know what? I'll tell you a little story." As Dan blinked, he continued, "I was born... without a father, really. There was just my Mom, nobody else. Of course I knew I had a father, everyone does, and we got money from him every month, but I never met him or anything. Then, Echizen Nanjirou turned up and offered to adopt me... my Mom agreed. So I suddenly had a father and a new Mom and a little brother, too."

"I never knew," Dan breathed. "You and Echizen-kun look so similar."

"Yeah, well, there's this little thing." Ryoga scratched the back of his head. "Some time ago I kinda found out... Nanjirou really is my father. He's the one who had been paying us every month... my Mom got him to take me in because she was sick and couldn't care for me anymore. I never knew about that when I was a kid, though." He shrugged. "Nanjirou and Rinko-Mom... they were nice enough, I guess. But over time, I felt they were too distant... that they were only focusing on Chibisuke. Well, Nanjirou was. Rinko-Mom has always been kind of... distant." To say the least. "I ended up... running away from home. I stayed away for quite some time... went around doing all kinds of stuff. Not all of it I'm proud of. Anyway, I finally ran into Chibisuke last year, and after that I've been dropping by every now and then. And now, well, I've decided to stay here."

"You ran away?" Dan echoed, eyes wide. "That must have been pretty horrible, then..."

"Well, yeah, I always was an impulsive kid," Ryoga admitted. "Thinking back I probably should have just tried to talk about it instead of running away like that... but what's done is done. I'm lucky nothing worse happened to me while I was running around." He shrugged. "But my point here is… it's not about genes. Nanjirou's been a much better father now than he was before, but it's not because I now know I'm biologically his son. And Rinko-Mom is just as distant to Chibisuke as she is to me, even though she's biologically his mother and not mine. It just doesn't matter."

"…Akutsu-senpai's told me the same thing," Dan murmured. "That just because two people are related by blood doesn't mean they are or should be close… I think he means his own father," he added, sounding rather mournful. "Akutsu-senpai has no idea who he is…" With a barely audible voice, he whispered, "I don't even know who I am, anymore desu."

"You are you," Ryoga replied, picking up on the words he only barely caught. "You're Dan Taichi, for better or for worse. You're a kid who got three games off Chibisuke and thinks it's a fluke, and who's a great captain but doesn't see it himself, and has a very protective senpai wrapped right around his little finger." He laughed as Dan flushed and sputtered in protest. "It's true, you know," he said, eyes twinkling. "Even I can tell he's got a soft spot for you."

"…I guess." Still flushed, Dan drew the blankets closer to himself as though they were some sort of a protective shell. "It's just, Akutsu-senpai… I…"

"You like him?" Ryoga asked, more a guess than anything else. As he got a tiny, hesitant nod in response, he grinned. "Figures. That's about the only reason why you'd want to hang around someone like him."

"Hey!" Dan protested, frowning. "Akutsu-senpai's not that bad!"

"I'm sure, I'm sure," Ryoga hurried to reply. "However, you'll have to forgive me; my sole experience about him was him practically trying to attack my little brother for a silly reason. Though… I guess he was only being protective," he then added with a softer tone. "He said it was only so you wouldn't start wailing, but… he told me your relatives had been giving you trouble. He was angry at Ryoma for playing with the cap because he didn't want anyone to start any more rumours that might bother you."

"…Akutsu-senpai's nice like that," Dan agreed with a tiny smile, still looking slightly flushed. "He just doesn't show it that often desu…"

"Apparently not, no." Ryoga gave him an encouraging smile. "Hey… I'm sure it'll turn out all right," he said. "At least you know he doesn't hate you, right?"

"…Right." Dan's flush deepened again. Something about how it looked bothered Ryoga. He wasn't sure it was entirely due to embarrassment… not with how sharp the colour was on his cheeks.

Dan seemed a bit startled as Ryoga reached out a hand towards him from the other end of the couch, but didn't draw away. Touching the boy's forehead, Ryoga was startled to notice how hot it was. "Woah, you're burning up," he murmured.

"I am?" Dan blinked. "But I'm still feeling cold…"

"Yeah, well, fever does that to you," Ryoga said, rolling his eyes, "as does wandering around without enough clothes on. I think we're done talking for tonight."

"But…" Dan protested, only for Ryoga to shake his head.

"No buts. Nanako would kill me if she found out I kept a sick guest up way past his bedtime," Ryoga said as firmly as he could manage. "You can use Chibisuke's room; it's nicer than the guest room and besides it's not like he's here to mind it. I'm sure some of his pyjamas will fit you, too."

Dan opened his mouth, then closed it again. Then, after apparently thinking for a while, he gave Ryoga a weak grin. "…It's just no use arguing with you, is it?"

"Nope!" Ryoga replied cheerfully. "Now stop being so stubborn. Come on, now." Not even waiting for Dan to reply or stand up, he simply got up, himself, then scooped down to pick the little bundle of blankets into his arms. Dan yelped in surprise, then quickly reached his arms around Ryoga's neck.

"…Just please don't drop me desu," he murmured, apparently giving up on any thought of protesting against being carried. Good boy. He was shivering, Ryoga noticed now that he was close enough, badly enough that Ryoga wouldn't have trusted him to make it all the way to Ryoma's room on his own.

"I promise I won't," he said, adjusting the small body in his arms. Dan really was small, he noticed, small and light. He certainly couldn't have carried Ryoma this easily, and not only because Ryoma would have kicked him around for daring to even try. Whether it was tiredness or the fever or just realizing he wouldn't listen to any protests, though, Dan simply leant closer to him, holding on without a complaint.

Ryoga easily carried Dan to Ryoma's room, somehow managing to wedge the door open without dropping his load. The room was rather typical of his brother, he thought, and probably just typical of a teenage tennis maniac in general. Dan certainly didn't seem too shocked at anything as he glanced around, probably somewhat curious.

Ryoga set Dan down on the bed, then turned towards the closet, opening it with little remorse. Ryoma hadn't left behind a lot, but there were still some things, most of them now too small for him and thus perfect for Dan. Finding a set of pyjamas that seemed close enough to the correct size, Ryoga then handed them over to Dan to put on.

"You can get something to wear from the closet in the morning if you feel like getting up then," he said. "And don't you dare protest or something like that. The fact that those clothes are still here means that Chibisuke doesn't need them, and it'll do no good for you to go around in little shorts when you're sick." He gave Dan a stern look. Heh. Since when had he become so… parental? Or responsible, or something equally adult-like. He suspected finding a kid who may or may not have been his brother all alone and sick and miserable out in the cold might have helped it along, but still. He wasn't quite that old yet. "The bathroom's down the hall, second door to the right from here," he added. "I'll be home all day tomorrow, so sleep however long you need to; I promise you won't wake up to an empty house." He smiled and ruffled Dan's hair again. "You just need a bit of rest and you'll be right as rain again. Just you wait and see. I'm sure everything will seem better in the morning."

"…I guess." Dan bit his lip. "I'm sorry to be so much trouble desu…" he murmured quietly.

"You're not," Ryoga said firmly. "I'd do the exact same thing if Chibisuke got sick. …Well, except he wouldn't let me," he added with a dramatic sigh. "That kid can be just seriously uncute sometimes."

Dan actually managed a little chuckle at that, which then turned into a cough, and another. Ryoga frowned. He really didn't like the sound of that.

"Okay, that's definitely your signal to get changed and go to sleep," he announced. "I'll see you in the morning. Try to get plenty of sleep, okay?"

After a small, "okay," Ryoga left the room and headed back to the living room. Cleaning up the remains of their little snack, he decided that Nanako would most definitely have been proud of him just then. But then, she was used to Nanjirou and Ryoma; it didn't really take a big show of responsibility and common sense to make her proud. Dan's cell phone had fallen on the couch, he noticed, picking it up and placing it on the table. Better not let anyone sit on it or something; that would hardly do any good for the device.

Finally heading to sleep himself, he decided to stop by to check on Dan. Peeking into the room, he noticed the lights were still on. Dan had managed to change clothes, though, his earlier attire lying in a somewhat haphazard bundle on the floor. Now he lay in the bed, half covered by the blankets, apparently fast asleep despite the lights still being on. A quiet cough escaped his throat, making the whole small body shiver slightly.

Walking silently closer, Ryoga took a good look at Dan. The kid really did look somewhat similar to Ryoma, he concluded. It was somehow even obvious now that he was asleep, eyes closed in rest making no difference between Ryoma's hard stare and Dan's wide eyes. A few strands of blue-black hair had fallen over his face; Ryoga reached over to push them aside. Dan sighed in his sleep and shifted a bit, curling up even closer, cheeks still dyed feverish red even in his sleep.

"…Hey, kid," Ryoga whispered, careful not to startle the boy awake. "I don't know if you're really my brother or not, yet, but… it doesn't matter, right? It's not about genes." He shook his head. "I'll help you through this mess. We'll see it through to the end… however it ends." After all, the kid did need someone… and Ryoga knew all too well what it was like not to know who you were or where you came from.

There was no response, for which he was only glad. No need to complicate things by letting Dan know certain facts just yet. Ryoga adjusted the covers to tuck Dan in better. Walking back to the doorway, he looked back at the kid for another while. Then, he switched off the lights.

Though he did go to his room right after that, changing and going to bed, Ryoga didn't fall asleep for a while yet.


	2. Sick

As Dan woke up, the first thing he realized was that the light was wrong.

Even without opening his eyes, he could tell the flaws in the light flooding the room. It was wrong in two different ways, to be precise. For one thing, the amount of sunlight was most definitely not correct for the time of the day he usually woke up; for another, said light was coming from an absolutely incorrect direction. His window was not to that direction from the bed.

Opening his eyes at last, he realized the ceiling was wrong, too.

It took him a second to gather his thoughts, but as he figured it out, the memories of the last night all came at once. He had... he had run away from home, basically. Because his father had told him to get out. And now he was lying in Echizen-kun's bed, in Echizen-kun's room, wearing Echizen-kun's pyjamas on top of it all. A coughing fit interrupted his thoughts, confirming that yes, he was still sick. As though feeling cold hadn't been enough of a clue already.

Glancing around the room, he finally spotted a clock that confirmed his suspicions. He'd slept in, completely oblivious to school and other such responsibilities. Okay, so perhaps he did have an excuse in being sick if nothing else, but at least he should have notified someone...

Sitting up on the bed, he tried to figure out what to do next. He supposed he should at least let Ryoga-san know he was up... Ryoga-san had said he'd be home all day, right? He wasn't entirely sure, he'd already been fairly sleepy at that point, but he did remember hearing something like that. Also something about when he got up... about clothes...

Oh. Right. He was supposed to get something from Echizen-kun's closet to wear. He supposed his clothes the night before hadn't been all that warm, but then he'd had to leave in something of a hurry.

Pushing the covers aside and sliding his feet out of the bed, Dan shivered as they first touched the cold floor. It didn't exactly help the feeling of cold that had taken over his body. Pushing himself up to his feet, he quickly made his way across the room to the closet.

Despite the half-remembered assurances from the night before, he did feel rather weird about going through someone else's closet. He tried to be as quick about it as possible and poke around as little as he could, even though the naturally curious part of his data-oriented mind was feebly trying to coax him into looking further. That would have been an intrusion, though. He was already being such trouble...

Finding some warm-looking clothes that would probably fit him, he changed as quickly as he could manage. He still felt cold even as he was fully clothed, but he liked to think the clothes were helping at least somewhat. Picking up the blanket he had been wrapped in when Ryoga-san carried him to the room and drawing it around himself again, he slowly ventured out of the room, looking for his host.

It turned out to be somewhat easier a task than he might have thought. About as soon as he made it to the hallway his ears caught the sound of someone singing. The singing was more or less on-key, he noted, occasionally pausing or switching to humming as the singer apparently forgot the lyrics momentarily. The voice certainly was familiar enough, after all the talking they had done the night before.

Walking towards the sound of the singing, one hand trailing the wall even as the other held the blanket around him, he soon found himself standing at the doorway to the kitchen. Ryoga was apparently listening to music on his headphones and singing along, doing a weird little dance-like thing around the kitchen. He didn't seem to make any notice of Dan standing there watching him. Clearing his throat, Dan waited for him to notice. He felt slightly embarrassed for witnessing something as... silly... as that. Ryoga-san probably hadn't thought anyone would intrude...

The singing stopped as Ryoga turned to look at him, blinking . "Oh, Dan-kun!" he exclaimed, taking the headphones off his ears. "You're up!"

"Ah – good morning," Dan murmured, then coughed. "I – I'm sorry for intruding –" He felt a flush rising to his cheeks and not only because of the fever he suspected still remained.

"Oh, don't be. After all, what's a show without an audience?" Hurrying closer, Ryoga felt his forehead and then frowned. "Seems you're still burning up... You should have stayed in bed or something. You shouldn't be up and about yet."

"Sorry," murmured Dan, feeling a bit awkward. He rubbed the back of his leg with his toes. "I just... I already overslept and –"

"Oh, yeah, that reminds me!" Ryoga snapped his fingers as though he'd just come to some grand revelation. "Your phone rang earlier; your vice-captain called and asked for you. I tried to get you up but you were sleeping too soundly... Anyway, I told him you were sick and couldn't make it to school for now. He said not to worry about it and take your time getting better, and that he'd take care of practice until you're all better."

"Ah – thank you." Dan ducked his head. He really was useless, wasn't he? He couldn't even take care of such a simple task as notifying anyone about his absence... Feeling a hand ruffling his hair, he looked up. Ryoga was grinning at him.

"Don't look so glum, okay? You're sick, you can't help it. And besides, you need all the rest you can get," he added with a little wink. "Now, are you feeling hungry? You missed breakfast but I saved you some, if you like pancakes, that is. I can cook up some rice, too, though."

"Ah – that's quite okay," Dan murmured. "I... just anything is fine."

"That's good." Ryoga pushed him towards the table. "Now, sit down and I'll warm up those pancakes for you, all right? You can't recover if you don't eat properly, that's what my Mom always said."

"...Right." Dan managed a small smile even as he shivered again at the cold. Warm food really sounded good right now. Seating himself at the table, he waited patiently. Ryoga started to sing again, tossing him a wink as Dan couldn't help but laugh a bit at a rather failed attempt at a particularly dramatic high note.

The pancakes were good, even rewarmed as they were, and Dan told Ryoga as much. This made the older boy laugh. "Those are about the only thing I can make by myself, though, aside from tea and rice," he said. "So, if you have any requests for lunch, keep in mind that we are quite restricted to the menu of the local take-out places."

Dan chuckled, then shook his head. "I could always make something," he said, then quickly added, "if you wouldn’t mind it…"

"To tell the truth," Ryoga said, "I would. And you know why?" He raised his eyebrows. "You’re sick, therefore, you rest. I know take-out isn’t perhaps your dream meal, but if that’s what it takes to keep you off your feet, then that’s what we will eat."

"But I’ll be bored sick if I just lie down all day desu," Dan murmured. He didn’t want to protest too much, knowing that Ryoga only meant the very best for him, but that didn’t change the fact that he didn’t exactly enjoy just staying still all day.

"You don’t have to stay in bed, you know," Ryoga pointed out. "You can just take over the couch in the living room so you can watch TV or play games or talk with me or whatever." He waited until Dan had finished eating his rather late breakfast, watching closely the disappearance of each forkful, then said, "Oh, and I think you got an e-mail at some point… I didn’t look at it, of course, but I heard the sound."

"Oh!" Dan blinked. "Where’s my cell phone?" Now that he thought about it, Ryoga had also mentioned answering the call earlier…

"Right here," Ryoga replied, picking it up from the kitchen counter and bringing it over to him. "It’d fallen from your pocket last night; I picked it up from the couch."

"Oh." Another slight flush took over his cheeks. Dan drew the blankets closer around himself and reached his hand to take the cell phone. Ryoga, however, shook his head.

"Rest comes first, young man," he said, his tone teasing yet firm. "Get on the couch and then we’ll talk."

Apparently he had no choice, here. Getting up to his feet, Dan made his way to the living room, shivering again as he dropped down on the couch, pulling the blanket closer once again. "Can I finally have it now?" he asked, a bit sharper than he might have meant to.

"Good boy." Ryoga smiled, handing over the cell phone before taking over one of the arm chairs. Dan murmured his thanks before flipping the phone open.

The e-mail was from his mother. Dan’s eyes widened as he read it, short but worried. Right… he hadn’t even notified her about where he was going, had he? He felt Ryoga’s eyes on himself as he quickly dialled his home number. His father would be at work at this time…

After a couple of rings, his mother picked up. She sounded rather tired, as though she hadn’t slept well. "Hello, Dan residence."

"…Mum?" Dan asked carefully. "Mum, it’s me…"

"Taichi?" She drew a sharp breath. "Oh, Taichi, where are you? I’ve been so worried… You… you weren’t out all night, were you?"

"Of course not," Dan mumbled, feeling guilty over having worried her like that. Gods, he really was useless… "I was over at a friend’s place, and –" He had to stop talking in favour of another fit of coughing. He was about to continue after it stopped, but his mother was faster.

"Are you sick? You didn’t catch a cold out there, did you? Oh, Taichi-chan, I’m so sorry, I should have –"

"It’s okay, Mum," he murmured. "I think I caught a little cold, but really, I’ll be fine desu… Ryoga-san’s been taking good care of me, he wouldn’t even give me my phone until I was lying down…" He heard a short chuckle from Ryoga but chose to ignore it for now. Calming down his mother was more important right now. "It’s not your fault, Mum."

"Yes, it is." Her voice sounded kind of odd, like she was… like she was trying not to cry. "I should have said something last night… should have called you to come back home. But… your father was so angry, and…"

"It’s not your fault," Dan repeated, closing his eyes as he let his head sink down to the arm of the couch. "It’s not like you could help him being angry desu."

"But it’s me he was angry at," she replied. "He just took it out on you. That makes it my fault." Was that a sob? Dan’s stomach lurched. He absolutely hated it when his mother cried…

"Mum…" Dan paused. There was no way to put this without sounding like he was accusing her, was there? Swallowing, he finally managed to ask, "Is… is it true?"

There was a silence. A silence that was too long for simple shock. Dan knew the answer even before he heard the quiet, "It’s… possible."

"It’s possible I’m not his?" Dan echoed. "Then… if he’s not my father… who is?"

"I… there’s a man," she said very quietly, apparently still trying to hide her crying. "I never thought… I mean, I did have my suspicions, but… I never thought it’d come up, Taichi…" She sobbed again. "I… he contacted me some time ago," she said quietly. "After the fights had already started…. Said he’d heard I had a son of the, ah, appropriate age. Said he wanted to… be sure."

Okay. That made Dan feel a bit… faint, really. "So… they both know?" he asked. "Dad and… the one who might be my father?"

"Yes…" She sniffled. "It’s… not helping, with your Dad, that is. Now they’re both asking for tests… Even if they showed you’re Takehiko’s, he would still hate me for the possibility. And… and if you’re not his…" Her voice trailed off.

A tear rolled down Dan’s cheek. Weird. He hadn’t even realized he was about to cry. "Why does it matter?" he asked quietly. "Why does it matter who the Hell I got the other half of my genes from?" He wasn’t sure whether he was angry or sad or just plain confused, wasn’t even sure if he was angry at his Mum or his Dad or that mysterious other man. "Is it just because he didn’t want to get married so young? Is that it?"

"Taichi… you shouldn’t be worrying about those things," his mother said quietly. "I – whatever it turns out to be, this is not your fault, it’s –" She tried to find the words and then failed. Finally, she just said, somewhat feebly, "I… I hate to say this, but… I think it might be best if you didn’t come here just yet… Give some time for it to sort out. Takehiko is rather angry, still, I don’t think it’d be good if you…"

"…Right." Dan sighed. "I… right desu."

"So… I was thinking… could you ask your friend’s family if you can stay for a little while, still? I’ll of course repay them for their kindness, but…"

"I… I guess I’ll ask Ryoga-san," Dan murmured. "But, I think –" However, before he could even thinking of asking, he found a hand gently prying the phone from his hands. Eyes flying wide, he realized Ryoga-san had at some point gotten up from his armchair and crouched down next to the couch.

"Ah, Dan-san?" Somehow, Ryoga managed a grin even as he answered the phone, one hand reaching to ruffle Dan’s hair. "Hello. My name is Echizen Ryoga, and –" He paused, apparently listening to something Dan’s mother said. "Yes, Echizen. I’m a big brother of one of Dan-kun’s friends from school." Well, that was close enough to the truth, wasn’t it? "Yes, yes… I met him while I was out running last night and invited him over… Oh, no, of course it isn’t a burden, not at all, my father and brother have just gone to America and I quite appreciate the company. …Yes, he’s sick, some fever and coughing but I doubt it’s anything worse, some proper rest should clear it right up… yes, his friends know he’s sick and not coming to school…"

It was strange as always, listening to someone speaking on the phone, only hearing one half of the conversation and trying to fill in the blanks. Thankfully it wasn’t too difficult, this time; Dan knew his mother well enough to make rather educated guesses at what she might have been saying to Ryoga.

"Yes, he has told some of the circumstances… No, of course I wouldn’t mind, not at all. …Right, well, he’s sick so it might be the best if I… oh, of course, that’s all right, that’d be perfect…" Dan listened as Ryoga gave his mother the address of the house. Then, suddenly, he was again being offered the phone. "She wants to speak with you again."

"…Hello, Mum?" he asked. "Ano… what’d you say?"

"Ah, Echizen-kun and I agreed that you can stay there for a little while… until the, ah, tests have been dealt with if need be," she said. Her voice sounded somewhat strange but at least she wasn’t crying anymore. Or, at least, he couldn’t hear any more sobs. "I… I’ll come over soon with some of your things, so… what do you need from here?"

"Ano… my school and tennis stuff, at least," Dan said, biting his lip. At least, he was hoping to recover fast enough that those would be necessary sooner rather than later… "Some clothes, and my laptop… and the two blue notebooks on my desk, and my MP3-player." With those, he should be able to entertain himself well enough that he wouldn’t be bothering Ryoga-san all the time… "Ah, if you can handle all that, of course desu."

"I’m sure I’ll manage." He could hear the smile in her voice. He could also hear it was forced. "Taichi… I’m sorry for all this…"

"Don’t be, Mum." He closed his eyes again, sighing. "…I love you, Mum desu."

"I love you too, Taichi. I’ll… I’ll be there soon, okay?" She ended the call.

"…Okay," Dan said to a deaf line. Opening his eyes, he looked at Ryoga. "Ah… I apologize," he murmured. "It seems I’ll be intruding on you a while longer…"

"I already told your mother this, and I’ll tell it to you," Ryoga said with a little grin. "I don’t mind. Not one bit. As I said, it’s nice to have some company; Nanako’s been out of the house most of the time lately, and besides she doesn’t even play tennis." He winked at Dan, the grin getting wider. "Besides, with some luck, if you get all better soon I might get proper food even when Nanako’s out!"

Dan couldn’t help but laugh at that, rubbing his eyes to get rid of the tears. "I’ll try my best not to disappoint you desu."

"Good." Again, his hair was being ruffled. Honestly, what was so very fascinating about it? "Now, your mother should be here in a while. Until then, I want you to stay right where you are, got it?" Ryoga smiled at him. "The more you rest, the sooner you’ll get better, and I think we both want you to get better soon. So, let’s just watch the TV for now or something. I think there’s this rather tolerable cooking show on right now, I’ve been watching it lately out of sheer boredom during the day… God, I really am turning into a lonely housewife, aren’t I?"

Dan chuckled, drawing the blanket closer once again as he got into a more comfortable position on the couch. Ryoga took the remote and turned the TV on, quickly finding the right channel. Then he settled into an armchair, both of them turning off all conscious thought as they instead let the show take over.

*

It wasn’t until Dan found himself being shaken awake, slowly returning to the land of waking, that he realized he had fallen asleep. He hadn’t meant to, certainly, and he couldn’t even recall being tired… apparently he was indeed sick. He never slept during the day if he was healthy. Of course, the fever and coughing might have tipped him off, too.

"Ryoga-san?" he murmured, forcing his eyes open. "Mmm… what time is it?"

"Time for you to greet the guest," he heard the response. Now, that was certainly enough to make his eyes fly wide. "Your mother’s here."

"Mum?" Dan pushed himself up into a sitting position. His mother was indeed standing in the doorway. His things were neatly piled up next to the wall, his school bag and tennis bag and laptop bag. "Mum!"

"Oh, Taichi!" And then she was crying and rushing towards him, drawing him into a hug with no regard to Ryoga being there. "Oh, my dear Taichi-chan, I was so worried about you…"

"No need to worry about me," Dan reassured her, arms reaching around her in an attempt to comfort her. "I’ve just got a little cold, that’s all desu…"

"And if you hadn’t run into Ryoga-san, then what? Oh, I could never forgive myself if something happened to you!"

"If I hadn’t run into Ryoga-san, I’d have gone to someone else," Dan replied. "I was within walking distance from most of my friends, and I know at least Akutsu-senpai would still have been awake desu." Of course, he would have hated to intrude on Akutsu-senpai’s tiny home, but he knew he would have been welcome anyway. Yuuki-chan was nice like that, just like her son.

"That’s not the point!" She drew back enough to look at him, her eyes full of tears. "None of this should have ever happened! You shouldn’t have ever felt like – like you had no choice but to leave…" She hugged him close again, clinging to him as though afraid he might just suddenly vanish if she let go for even a second.

"Mum…" Dan tried to find something to say but failed, simply looking at Ryoga questioningly over her shoulder. Ryoga just gave him a faint little smile and shook his head.

Finally, his mother calmed down enough to loosen her hold again, trying to dry her tears. "I – I’ll try to talk with Takehiko, okay?" she said, biting her lip. "I’ll try to speak some sense to him… He should only be mad at me, not you. You’re not at fault to any of this…"

"Mum, it’s okay." Dan tried his best to smile at her. He wasn’t sure if he managed, but at least he wasn’t crying. "Really, it is. I can stay here until everything’s been cleared out, right? Yamabuki’s still close enough for me to walk to school, and Ryoga-san’s been really nice to me…"

"…Right." She looked over at Ryoga, a somewhat peculiar expression crossing her face. "Ah, Echizen-kun… I really hate to push all this on you."

"Please, Dan-san, just call me Ryoga," Ryoga replied. "When people talk to Echizen-kun I start wondering if my little brother’s somewhere around… and I’ve told you both already, it’s all right." He grinned a bit. "I’m sure Dan-kun will be the one to get sick of me first."

"I couldn’t!" Dan exclaimed before he had time to realize the other was just teasing him. "Ano… you’ve been really nice to me, and…"

"Don’t worry about it, either of you, all right?" Ryoga smiled reassuringly. "I’ll just use you as an antidote against missing my brother. And, well…" His expression turned more serious. "I know perfectly well what it’s like to be caught in a mess like this. So… let’s just say I can sympathize."

"…Right." Dan swallowed. "…Thank you, Ryoga-san."

"Thank me or apologize to me one more time, and I might start reconsidering," Ryoga said, winking. "In any case, I think I’ll go and clean the kitchen now. So, if you’ll excuse me…" He nodded at them and left the room. Dan’s mother turned to look at him again.

"Taichi… I’m sorry," she said again quietly. "It’s because of me that you’re in this mess… because of a mistake I made." She sighed, then ruffled his hair. That decided it; it was officially an epidemic. "But, Taichi… you were never a mistake."

"…Right." He managed a faint smile at her before asking, "Ano… how's Mina? She was pretty upset last night…"

"That hasn't changed much," his mother sighed. "At least… after you left, I managed to get Takehiko to calm down, but… she's pretty upset. She doesn't really understand any of this…"

"Doesn't surprise me desu," Dan murmured. "I don't even understand any of this…" He tried to say something else, but then just started coughing again. "…Sorry," he murmured once he managed to stop. "I guess I really am pretty sick…"

"I guess that means it’s time for me to let you get back to sleep," she said, giving him one last hug. "And I do need to get back home… try not to cause too much trouble to, ah, Ryoga-kun, all right?"

"Right." He nodded. As though he would. "It’ll be all right eventually… won’t it, Mum?"

"Yes, it will," she reassured him. "Eventually, everything will sort itself out." She ruffled his hair one last time, then pressed a little kiss on his forehead. "Goodbye, Taichi."

"…Bye, Mum." Dan dropped back down on the couch, watching as she left the room to the direction of the kitchen. He could hear her talking something with Ryoga but couldn’t make out the words.

Pulling the blanket properly over his shivering body again, he closed his eyes, doing his best to fall asleep again. If rest would get him on his feet sooner, then rest he would, damn it.

He was still awake as he heard his mother leaving, then Ryoga asking him if Chinese was all right for take-out. He murmured something relatively agreeable, not sure if Ryoga would even catch his words. Apparently he did, though, given that he replied in an affirmative tone, though Dan’s mind was too tired to sort out the exact words anymore.

Some quiet chatter from the TV nobody had thought to turn off served as background as he slid back to sleep.

*

The next time Dan woke up he was feeling… relatively better. He was still sick, as evidenced by the still persistent coughing, but at least he didn’t feel quite as feverish anymore. Looking around the living room, he couldn’t see Ryoga anywhere. Someone had turned the TV off and set the remote at the little table right within his reach, though, so obviously Ryoga had been to the room since he’d last been awake.

Before he could start wondering or even considering going to look, though, he again heard the sound of Ryoga’s singing. It was getting louder, too, culminating at another almost screeching note as the singer himself stepped into the room.

"Ahh, perfect timing!" Ryoga grinned, showing the take-out boxes in his hands. Walking closer, he set them on the table next to the remote before reaching up to take the headphones out of his ears. "I was worried the food might get cool while you slept so I was debating whether I should wake you up or not, but guess that’s not an issue now. How are you feeling?"

"A bit better, thanks for asking," Dan murmured. "I’m still pretty sick, though… and my throat’s kind of sore."

"Well, that’s no wonder after all that coughing you’ve done," Ryoga said with a tsking sound. "But at least you’ve been resting! That’s always good." Opening the boxes, he winked at Dan. "You know, once you’re all better, I’ll show you the tennis court in the backyard."

"Really?" Dan blinked. "You have a tennis court here?"

"Really really," Ryoga replied. "The old man used to play against Chibisuke there when they lived here. There’s floodlights and everything just so they could play whenever they felt like it." He glanced at the take-out boxes. "You weren’t awake enough to tell what you wanted, so I just picked two meals by random and you get to choose first."

"Ah, that’s quite all right." Dan flushed a bit again; despite Ryoga’s insistence he really was being trouble, wasn’t he… "I’ll be fine with whichever, really."

"Well, one of us will have to make the choice," Ryoga pointed out. "Shall we flip a coin?"

"Well, that’s at least a fair manner of choosing, isn’t it?" Dan chuckled. "Unless we wanted to spin a racquet…"

"Your tennis bag is right there… but I think a coin will have to do." Ryoga laughed. "Less of a hassle, wouldn’t you agree?"

Thankfully, both meals turned out to be quite tasty. Dan hadn’t expected to be very hungry, considering the late breakfast and the fact he had slept most of the day, but he did manage to eat most of his food.

"My Mom used to say that good appetite is the sign of getting healthy," Ryoga said with a wink. "Judging by this, I’d say you’re well on your way there already."

Dan flushed and ducked his head while picking up another bit of rice.

He realized after a while that Ryoga was still watching him. "…Is there something wrong?" he asked, blinking.

"Oh, nothing’s wrong, precisely," Ryoga assured him. "It’s just… you kind of remind me of Chibisuke when you eat." He laughed at Dan’s confused expression. "But then, that’s kind of expected, isn’t it? Two little dark-haired boys who eat with their left hand, so obviously there’s a resemblance."

"He’s not as little as me anymore, though," Dan pointed out. "He really has grown lately… I’m almost jealous."

"Chibisuke does have that effect on people." Ryoga chuckled. Once they were both done eating, he asked, "Have you notified anyone else who might be looking for you? I’d imagine your vice-captain has notified people in your club, and they would have told your classmates… your mother said she’d call the school to let them know you’re sick and not just playing hooky. Anyone else who should know where you are?"

"Well…" Dan pondered for a moment. He did have some friends in other schools, but then he mostly met them at places like the street courts, not at home. "Perhaps Akutsu-senpai, but…"

"Now there’s a dilemma." Ryoga sighed dramatically. "To let him know so he won’t worry about you and let him know where to find me, or to hide from him and risk being mauled by him anyway if he decides I’ve kidnapped you?" Dan must have looked pretty shocked as Ryoga burst out into laughter. "…Oh, come on, kid. Just tell him. It’s no good to let others worry, and besides," he winked at Dan, "I do think I can handle him."

Dan might have said that Akutsu-senpai could beat anyone, but he was fairly sure such pride in his senpai would have been rather out of place in this situation. "…I will desu."

"Oh, and Dan-kun… don’t take me too seriously when I talk about him, okay?" Ryoga glanced at him. "I mean, Chibisuke’s told me a bit about Akutsu… most of it isn’t very nice. So, it kind of worries me to see how attached you are to him. But then… I’ve also seen how attached he is to you, right? So I know not to worry too much." He gathered the remains of their meal. "He’s just the type of person I can’t help but get annoyed at."

"…Akutsu-senpai does have that effect on people." Dan smiled faintly. "You wouldn’t be the first one who’s concerned… but really, there’s no need. He’s always been nice to me." And he had. Dan wasn't always sure just what he had done to deserve this special treatment, but he certainly wasn't complaining.

"I'll just take your word for that." Ryoga shook his head, chuckling. "Hey, if you're feeling a bit better, how about playing cards with me for a little while? I know it's not tennis, but it should help keep you away from boredom."

And Ryoga himself, too, no doubt. "I… that might be fun."

"Great." Ryoga smiled. "Just let me get the cards!"

Dan nodded, drew the blanket around himself, and somehow managed a smile.


	3. Worried

It wasn't that Akutsu was worried, of course. Being worried was generally a rather useless pastime; it rarely helped anyone in any way, and if someone was stupid enough to get themselves hurt then they probably deserved it. However, he would have been lying had he tried to claim that he didn't have the slightest bit of unease gnawing at him as he slouched over to Yamabuki Middle School only to hear from a slightly concerned Muromachi that Taichi was apparently sick and couldn't come to school. Not only that, but he wasn't even at home, a fact which Muromachi didn't seem to think too important but which immediately caught Akutsu's ear.

It was the middle of the school week, yet a little saint like Taichi wasn't home. Which meant he probably had a damn good reason not to be there.

Akutsu wasn't sure exactly how he should have asked for more information. Thankfully, he never had to; Muromachi was apparently on a talkative mood despite his obvious and amusing fear of Akutsu, mentioning something about the person answering Taichi's phone identifying themselves as Echizen. Akutsu didn't bother to listen to any further speculations, simply marching off and wondering where to find the Echizen residence. He might be merciful if there was a good explanation for why Taichi was there and not answering his own phone. Or perhaps not. All Echizens he had met this far were just damn irritating.

Apparently luck was on his side today. He was just fiddling with his phone, toying with the thought of finding some excuse to call Taichi that wouldn't sound too sentimental, as it suddenly announced the arrival of an e-mail. Seeing the sender's name, he opened it immediately.

The message was simple, yet Taichi had still found some reason to adorn it with some idiotic smiley. The kid apparently never learnt what was necessary and what wasn't. For example, the apology for worrying him was absolutely needless; after all, he hadn't been worried, he never worried about anyone or anything. The address to where he was staying, though, was indeed quite welcome.

Not that he paid attention to such things, but the address wasn't entirely too far from Taichi's. Sure, it wasn't just a place to casually stop by, but for someone with even the slightest bit of athletic inclination it wasn't hopelessly far on foot, either. It certainly wasn't too far to make him decide not to go and get some sense to this not-quite-mystery.

The nameplate by the gate confirmed what he had already been told. The Echizen residence. Akutsu snorted and walked right to the front door, pausing for a little moment before pressing the doorbell.

It wasn't too long until he heard the approaching footsteps from the other side of the door, yet it was almost long enough to make him decide to just march away, or possibly break the door. However, he never had time to implement either of these plans as the door was opened and he found himself face to face with the Echizen brat's brother.

"Ah. Was wondering how long it'd take for you to show up," Ryoga said, and Akutsu almost punched him in the face right there and then. He would have, but he had no doubt Taichi would have lectured at him for that until his ears fell off, and that wouldn't be a particularly pleasant way to lose his hearing so he might just as well refrain.

"Shut up," he thus simply growled. "Where's Taichi?"

"At the moment? Asleep in the living room, so I'd appreciate if you kept your voice down," Ryoga replied, stepping aside from the doorway. "Come in."

Akutsu threw him a glare even as he got into the house. He immediately spotted Taichi's shoes. So that much was at least true. "Why's he here?"

"You want the nice answer, or the honest one?" Akutsu's expression was apparently enough of a clarification as Ryoga just sighed, indicating the guest slippers. "I was on a run late last night and found him wandering down a street. Practically freezing, too. I brought him here to get him warm, but he'd already caught a cold so I invited him to stay."

"And why'd he be out like that?" Akutsu asked. Taichi was such a good little mama's boy, he wouldn't just be wandering out at a late hour without a good reason, and for all that he preferred shorts he also wasn't idiotic enough to freeze himself on purpose.

"...His father told him to get out." Ryoga's serious tone gained a sharp gaze from Akutsu, one that was returned levelly. "Said he didn't want to see Dan-kun in his house again. I talked with Dan-kun's mother earlier today... we agreed that he can stay here until the matter's been resolved, one way or another."

"And how are they going to solve it?" Akutsu asked, trailing after Ryoga deeper into the house. He was fairly impatient to see that the kid was still in one piece, but he didn't want to seem too eager. The idiot might have thought he actually cared or something. "Doubts like that aren't just going to vanish..."

"...Arrangements have already been made," Ryoga replied quietly. "Soon as he's all better again and everything's been sorted out, they're going to run... tests."

Akutsu glanced at him sharply. "...And if he's not his Dad's?" If the man had already told Taichi to get out, based merely on suspicions of something he couldn't help...

"...There's going to be two tests, actually," Ryoga murmured. "One comparing him with Dan-san, one comparing him with... another person. Dan-kun's mother is confident one of the tests at least will turn out positive..."

...Wait. That meant... "So she did cheat." For a moment, Akutsu was tempted to simply go and snap the bitch's neck just for getting Taichi into this situation. However, he rather doubted Taichi would have appreciated the gesture. Maybe he should kill the boy's father instead. ...Whoever that turned out to be.

"So it would appear." Ryoga sighed, pausing at a door before opening it. "...Keep your voice down, please. He's been sleeping a lot, but I doubt he's perfectly all right yet."

Akutsu just nodded, walking into what was apparently the living room. His eyes immediately caught sight of Taichi, curled up in a corner of the couch, blankets over him. He looked really small, but then Taichi always looked small, he might have filled out a bit but he was still just a little runt. The very fabric of the world would probably tear if he ever had a proper growth spurt. There was a slightly feverish flush on his cheeks.

Walking up to the kid, Ryoga felt his forehead, frowning. "Seems like his fever's building up again," he murmured. "I hope it'll go away soon..."

A glance around the room made Akutsu's eye catch on a few bags piled next to the doorway. They were... familiar. "I see his mother brought over his things."

"Yes, she did." Ryoga nodded. "We're rather hoping he won't have to stay too long, but... if worse comes to worst..."

"If worse comes to worst," Akutsu echoed, "you don't know if he can ever go back." He hadn't dealt with Taichi's father – well, his official father anyway – a whole lot, but from what little he had heard from the kid, the man could hold a grudge. And when he once had his mind set on something, he could rarely be convinced to change it. If he'd told Taichi to get out, it was going to get some pretty firm evidence for him to let the kid back.

Maybe he'd just kill the bastard however the tests turned out. Taichi might not even mind it all that much... except he would, since Taichi was a bloody forgiving little saint like that.

"...Yeah." Ryoga sighed, glancing at some cards that had been left on a table near the couch, apparently in the middle of a game. "Poor kid... he's not at fault for any of this."

"Kids never are," Akutsu grunted. "It's the fathers who are the bastards." He crouched down next to the sleeping kid. Taichi seemed to be frowning in his sleep.

"...Hostile, aren't you." It wasn't a question, so Akutsu didn't bother answering. He merely shrugged.

"Hey, at least Taichi'll probably get his answer, one way or another," he said then almost absent-mindedly. "Me, I'll never know who the fucker is. Better that way, I guess. I'd just hunt him down and kill him, and Taichi'd never let me hear the end of that."

"That sucks." Ryoga actually frowned as though he cared, or something. "It was bad enough being a fatherless kid back in America; can't imagine what it must be like here in Japan."

"Yeah, well, Japan's pretty backward on some things." Akutsu raised his eyebrows. "...Yamabuki wasn't the old hag's first choice for me, you know. It's just that the place she wanted me to go to wouldn't take me because of my bloody background – or lack of it."

"Well, think of it this way," the older man said lightly, "because that one school rejected you, you got to meet Dan-kun."

"...As though that's a good thing." Akutsu was well aware of how badly his words contradicted with the care evident in his gesture as he brushed a lock of hair away from Taichi's face. But, well, it wasn't like Ryoga was looking at him right then anyway.

"...I was pretty angry, you know," Ryoga said after a moment's silence. "When I found out Nanjirou really was my biological father. I was angry because he hadn't taken care of me from the start. But, well... things aren't that easy sometimes, you know? Just because they seem simple doesn't mean they are. Maybe your father never knew about you." He shrugged. "It appears Dan-kun's alleged father never knew about him until just recently."

"That's no fucking excuse," Akutsu growled. "Know or not, he shouldn't have been fucking another man's wife anyway."

"He wasn't." That finally made Akutsu tear his eyes away from Taichi. "He wasn't sleeping with anyone's wife," Ryoga elaborated. "Just someone's girlfriend. Dan-kun's parents got married when his mother realized she was pregnant."

That coaxed a full string of curses from Akutsu. "So it's not only that he was being cuckolded," he murmured darkly. "He was also conned into marriage because the bitch cheated on him."

"That's the theory, yeah." Ryoga sighed. "And apparently, for all their years of marriage and two nice kids, he's still feeling just a tiny bit bitter over it."

"Idiots," murmured Akutsu. "Both of them." He shook his head. "They don't deserve a kid like Taichi."

"Good thing he's got you, eh?" Once again, his sharp gaze was met with a perfectly calm one. "Don't even try to deny it. It's obvious you care for the kid."

"...He's hard to get rid of," Akutsu said as nonchalantly as he could manage. "Like a noisy little leech."

"You were afraid he'd get hurt climbing the tree," Ryoga said, appearing almost amused now. "You didn't want any unsettling rumours concerning him. You're petting him like he was a sleeping little puppy."

Akutsu drew his hand away as though burned, glaring at the sleeping boy as though it was Taichi's fault he had been stroking the kid's hair. "You haven't heard him wail," he said sullenly. "It'd wake the dead first and then make them go deaf."

"Whatever you say," Ryoga chuckled. "...You know he likes you, right?"

"I'm good at tennis," Akutsu replied. "He adores anyone who's good at tennis." Though most people didn't start blushing and spluttering just because they saw an athlete they liked... but then, Taichi had always been strange like that. And it wasn't cute at all. No way.

"He thinks you are nice," continued Ryoga. "According to what I've heard from Chibisuke, he's just about the only person ever to hold that particular opinion of you, with the possible exception of your mother."

"The old hag and the kid are both deluded," Akutsu replied. Why were they still talking about this, anyway?

"...Or maybe you just treat them differently." Ryoga reached out a hand as though to pat his shoulder, but thankfully had the good sense to freeze at Akutsu's glare. He had no doubt Taichi would have ripped him apart verbally if he'd torn the idiot's arm off. "It's okay, you know. Nobody's going to die even if you admit you don't hate everyone on this planet."

"...You don't know that." Akutsu kept his eyes firmly on the sleeping kid. Taichi's frown had now faded, and he seemed to be sleeping peacefully. "If anyone had any reason to think he's... some kind of a freak... they'd hurt him. Or if they thought he's of any actual value to me." He had gained his fair number of enemies over the years... and though many of them didn't dare cause him any trouble, and he could handle them even if some of them got idiotic enough, Taichi wasn't exactly as fearsome and strong.

"And there you go again, all concerned for him." Gods, was this guy a total idiot or what? Akutsu was not worried. Not ever. Not about anyone.

"And there you bloody go again, all fucking idiotic."

To both of their surprise, the response didn't come from Ryoga. Instead, they heard a quiet, mumbled voice from the couch. "'s not nice, Akutsu-senpai... You're a guest, don't be rude to the host desu..."

"Taichi?" Akutsu blinked, immediately wondering just how much of Ryoga's idiocy the brat had heard. Knowing him, he might get some stupid ideas or something... "You awake?"

"Yeah." A tiny smile curling his lips, Taichi opened his eyes halfway, looking at Akutsu a bit sleepily. It was ridiculous, of course, but Akutsu suddenly had to swallow as the sight of the sleepy kid brought up thoughts he... shouldn't have been having. "Thanks for coming, Akutsu-senpai..."

"Che." He snorted. "Had to make sure the idiot here hadn't chopped you up and made soup from you..."

Taichi giggled sleepily. "I'd be too small and dry for a proper meal... maybe he's just using me to lure you here. I bet you'd be much tastier."

"Don't be an idiot, Taichi." Akutsu laughed harshly. "I'd taste all bitter and unpleasant."

"Mmm, I don't know." Taichi blinked innocently. "I'd eat you desu."

Akutsu wasn't blushing. Of course he wasn't blushing, not at something a feverish, half-asleep kid said, not even if he heard Ryoga snickering in the background. "...Go back to sleep, Taichi."

"But I don't want to." Taichi yawned, then sat up on the couch, wiping a few stray locks of hair from his face. "I've been asleep most of the day already. I've only been awake to eat and talk with my Mum..."

"Fine. Kill yourself." Akutsu rolled his eyes and sat down on the spot on the couch that was now free from Dan, only to have the kid immediately lean against his shoulder. "...Oi. Didn't you say you didn't want to sleep?"

"I'm not sleeping," Taichi whined. "I just want to be close desu... I'm freezing." The shirt the kid was wearing wasn't his, at least not one that Akutsu would have recognized. That made the younger Echizen brat the most likely suspect. The idiot even managed to be annoying when he wasn't in the same fucking country.

"That's because you're running a fever, still," Akutsu pointed out. "You little idiot..."

"I'm not an idiot," Taichi murmured. "I'm just sick."

"Well, if you'd rather not go to sleep right now, Dan-kun," Ryoga spoke up before Akutsu could respond, "maybe I can count on Akutsu to look after you while I make a quick trip to the grocery store? I'd hate to leave you alone while you're sick..."

"I'm sure that's all right," Taichi said brightly before Akutsu had any chance to get a word in sideways. "I don't want to be a burden desu..."

"I've told you often enough, stop that." Ryoga smiled at the boy, then threw Akutsu a wink when Taichi's eyes turned to Akutsu, that's all right isn't it Akutsu-senpai. The bastard. He'd just seriously made the top of Akutsu's list of People to Kill.

He couldn't exactly say that, though, not with Taichi there to wonder and scold and ask why he would say something that horrible anyway, and thus Akutsu was left alone with a slightly feverish Taichi who apparently had decided it was perfectly all right to invade Akutsu's lap just because he was still feeling cold despite burning up on the surface.

"...I heard what you were talking about, you know," Taichi said after a moment's silence. "With Ryoga-san."

"We talked about a lot of things," Akutsu said. He wasn't about to elaborate. If Taichi wanted to go into specifics, he'd have to be the one to bring up the subject.

"Just before you realized I was awake." Taichi looked up to him, a disturbingly sincere look in his eyes. "Akutsu-senpai... do you like me?"

Akutsu swallowed. What was he supposed to say to that? "...You're draped all over me and you ask me that?" he finally asked.

"Yes. I want an answer." Taichi crawled further into his lap until he was straddling Akutsu's thighs, slender arms reached around his neck. "Akutsu-senpai? Do you like me?"

Despite what most might have thought, Akutsu did have some self-control. He wasn't as much a slave of his whims and desires as many people seemed to think. However, with all the talk about the matter and the closeness and Taichi's little elfin face so close, his self-control was wearing very thin very fast.

Taichi's lips were warm in a manner he wasn't sure could be entirely contributed to the fever, warm and soft against his own chapped lips, parting readily at his smallest indication. The kid leant closer to him, too, his skin almost burning as one of Akutsu's hands slipped just barely under the hem of the shirt that really belonged to Echizen, fingertips brushing against the lean stomach.

As he finally broke the kiss, Akutsu was certain the blush wasn't solely due to the still lingering fever, looking Taichi in the eye. "...Enough of an answer for you?" he asked harshly, breathlessly, yet he was absolutely certain Taichi would have no trouble interpreting his tone. Taichi had always been strange like that.

It had been quite a while since he'd last seen a smile that bright on the kid's face. When he'd been made a captain, perhaps, or after his first official victory in an actual tournament match... Certainly it had been a while, with all the matters weighing down on the usually so cheerful kid's mind lately. Akutsu had to admit he... didn't entirely mind the smile.

"You really are nice, you know, Akutsu-senpai," Taichi said softly. "You're just really bad at showing it."

"Go to hell, Taichi," Akutsu said with a tone that might have almost been called gentle for lack of a better word. Apparently Taichi did choose to go by this interpretation, judging by the fact his smile didn't fade one bit.

Taichi didn't respond, simply pressed closer to him. Then, however, the kid coughed. Akutsu frowned.

"...You should fucking lie down," he murmured. "I'm not taking responsibility if you kill yourself."

"It's just a cold," Taichi murmured, but didn't seem to protest too much. Instead, he climbed out of Akutsu's lap, only to slide down to lie on the couch, head resting in Akutsu's lap. "...Akutsu-senpai?"

"Yeah?" Akutsu reached over to pull the blankets over Taichi's small body, not really paying much attention as one of his hands made its way into the shaggy mop of hair.

"Can we be... together, now?" The boy swallowed. "You know... as... boyfriends?"

"You mean you're actually giving me a choice?" It was half a joke, but only half so. He had certainly thought it possible, even likely, that Taichi would just announce that was the case.

"Akutsu-senpai!" And here was the feared pout. Gods, the kid should have been a puppy dog or something, with those eyes of his. He'd have fit right in at the window of a pet store. "You shouldn't be so mean desu…"

"Oi. I didn't say no." As the boy's gaze turned hopeful, though, he raised his hand to make a point. "But if you heard what we were talking about… you also heard you might get hurt for it." He shook his head. The kid really had no idea just what he was getting involved in… "Just hanging around me puts you in danger. If anyone thought there was… anything else… going on…"

"…Takeda Kyouichi, Misatora High School," the kid murmured. As Akutsu gave him a startled gaze, he didn't react, just went on. "Kimura Keiji, Erakane High School. Hasuza Kyo, dropped out of Kamakura High School. Hagekuchi Rin –"

"Okay, Taichi," Akutsu interrupted, his voice harsh. The names and schools of his worst enemies were not just something anyone could list off like that. "Where'd you hear all that from?"

"You should know by now, Akutsu-senpai," Taichi murmured, drawing the blankets closer to himself. "I'm a data player. I work on data. It's my way of figuring out the world, you know? And there are few things I find more interesting than… well, you." Again, more of a flush than the fever could easily account for. "It's just… I know these things, okay? I know the things you get up to; I know what you're dealing with. I… know what I'm potentially getting myself into."

"Then you have to know you'd be a fucking idiot to get voluntarily mixed up in any of this bloody mess." And that was putting it lightly. Some of those names were just small-time punks, but some… some of them could be seriously dangerous, and had friends and lackeys who were equally worrisome. And though Akutsu was not worried for himself, well… he couldn’t be always around to protect the kid.

"No. I know the risks… and I think the potential benefits greatly outweigh them." Taichi gave him a smile, such a silly, happy, perfectly idiotic little smile it was like they weren't even having the same conversation. "I'm not afraid, Akutsu-senpai. Not of you. Not of anybody."

"Well, you should be," he snapped. "Some of those guys wouldn't stop at just beating you up. If they had any reason to think they'd really get at me through you, you might end up in a ditch somewhere with your fucking insides carved out."

"…I haven't heard you say no yet, though." Taichi was still looking at him, looking at him with those big, bright puppy dog eyes, obviously thinking his heart would waver at such a silent plea as though he still had a heart.

"…Just fucking go to sleep, Taichi." What he got in response was a tiny nod and a smile that was just so plain trusting, it had no place being in the same room with someone like Akutsu.

…Maybe it was about the time for him to clean up some loose ends.

*

By the time Ryoga got back, Akutsu was trying to amuse himself by watching the TV. The volume was down so as not to startle Taichi awake, but he doubted he was missing much; it was just another stupid game show with little actual sense to it. Stupid people did stupid things and other stupid people laughed at it. It was quite pathetic, really.

"I see the kid's doing exactly what he should be doing." Akutsu didn't deem this worth an actual answer, simply grunting something unintelligible. For some reason, the idiot apparently took this as an invitation to bug him further. "You two have a good time without me?"

"The hell is it to you?" Akutsu sent him a glare.

Ryoga threw his hands up in the air. "Whoa, whoa, don't bite my head off just for that," he said, a bit too much of a smirk in his voice to convince Akutsu he was not being a pain on purpose. "I just think it's kinda cute, the way he sticks to you." He smiled faintly. "…I suppose not many people do."

"That's none of your fucking business." Akutsu rolled his eyes. "What do you care, anyway?"

"What do you mean, what do I care?" Ryoga raised his eyebrows.

"You heard me," Akutsu snapped. "What'd get you involved in… in any of this? This whole bloody mess with Taichi. Picking up a kid wandering on the streets past his bedtime, that I can imagine, but letting him live here just like that? People aren't quite that nice for no reason. Not unless they're bloody saints or something."

"I thought I already made it clear," Ryoga replied, shrugging as he reached for the remote to turn the TV off. Akutsu made no move to stop him. It wasn't like he'd been really watching anyway. "I know full well what it's like to be born without a father… to wonder who you really are. So I suppose I can sympathize with his situation."

"Yeah, well, so can I," Akutsu said darkly. Oh, he knew full well what that was like… "Mine never got solved."

"Well, hopefully, Dan-kun's will." Ryoga still kept his eyes on the TV even as it was now off. "His mother swears there are only two possible fathers. So, with the DNA test, this case should get solved once and for all."

"So at least the other father has agreed to giving samples?" Akutsu asked for clarification. Ryoga had mentioned something about two tests, but he wanted to make sure he'd got it right. "Or are you just going to take the bitch's word for him if the Dan idiot doesn't match Taichi?"

"It's… yes and no, really." Ryoga shook his head. "The actual alleged father is currently overseas, and avoids travel due to a health issue… but a close relative has agreed to give a sample in his stead."

"But that's not as accurate, is it?" Never mind that, how did someone apparently unconnected know so much of the details?

"…There's a testing method that concentrates on the Y chromosome," Ryoga said quietly. "Since it always passes directly from father to son, the method can be used to trace direct paternal lines." He finally turned to face Akutsu. "That means using my DNA sample is just as accurate as using my father's."

Somehow, Akutsu got the feeling the mention wasn't just an idle example. "…Wait. You can't mean…"

"I do mean." Ryoga folded his arms across his chest. "The alleged father in this case… is Echizen Nanjirou. Ryoma's father, and mine." He glanced at the slumbering kid. "…And, possibly, Dan-kun's."

"What, the guy didn't learn his lesson with you?" Akutsu snapped. "Couldn't keep it in his pants even as he already had one bastard?"

"Hey, I'm making no excuses for him." Ryoga walked over to an armchair and sat down heavily. "He is a pervert and a cheater, all right. He's been sowing his seeds wider than he should have. But at least he's trying to fix the things, okay?" He shook his head. "This isn't easy for anyone, you know. My father already has… issues of his own. With his health. With his life. He didn't even know about Dan-kun until, well… until I saw a record of him playing tennis and started connecting the dots." Leaning back, he sighed. "It's still not certain, but… he's trying to find out at least."

"…Only reason I'm not going overseas right now to just kill him." Akutsu looked down at Taichi, who seemed to be sleeping more or less peacefully. "…Son of the Samurai Nanjirou, huh?" He'd always known the kid had potential… he just hadn't known it was genetic.

"It would make sense, wouldn't it?" Ryoga folded his hands. "A year ago, he was a nobody. Barely started tennis. Now he's the captain of a National level team and doing a damn good job at it, too. But… I kind of hope it's not true," he murmured then. "Just so he can go home again…"

"Home to a father who now hates his mother," Akutsu mumbled. "To a mother he can never fully trust again. To a sister who won't have a damn idea why their father looks so weird every time Taichi as much as picks up his racquet."

"And what's the alternative?" asked Ryoga sharply. "Moving in with a half-brother he barely knows, knowing he's got a father he's never even met currently busy dying overseas? Realizing that most of what he's ever thought about himself has been just a big, fat lie?"

"…At least you're not the one who sent him out to the streets to catch his damn death of cold," Akutsu murmured. "You can give him the chance to live up to his full potential." He doubted Taichi's parents had ever truly realized just what their son was capable of… and he certainly didn't think they'd be too supportive of him after realizing it might all be just traces of the other father candidate.

"…Pretty caring, aren't you." Ryoga raised his eyebrows with a smirk that really made Akutsu want to punch him. He would have, too, had Taichi not been draped all over his lap. The kid would probably have woken up if he'd suddenly lunged for the idiot, and that would have made Akutsu's previous efforts of getting him to sleep rather pointless.

"Just don't want the kid to come crying to me again," he murmured. Then, realizing what that might have sounded like, he added, "He gets damn annoying when he does."

"I'm sure he does." Still that annoying smirk.

"Shut the fuck up."

There was indeed a momentary silence following his words. Then, the older man suddenly stood up, starting for the doorway. Halfway there, he stopped. "…Hey, you know anything about cooking?"


	4. Protective

The guest room was, as Ryoga imagined, much like any other guest room in any other house. Having seen little use lately, it seemed a bit dusty in the absence of life, furnished with various cast-offs from the other rooms of the house. The bookshelf in the corner was sparsely populated by books and magazines nobody ever missed, the bed passable but hardly the most comfortable one ever. The window would need some cleaning, he assumed, and in general everything would have to be dusted, but there was nothing wrong with the room that a good cleaning couldn't fix.

He'd probably better get started, then. Not like he had anything else to do.

It was strange, he thought, being in the house all by himself again. Sure, Dan had been rather quiet while he was sick, mostly spending his time sleeping, but at least he had been... there. Now, he had finally deemed himself healthy enough to go to school. Ryoga himself had walked the way there with him, having checked the route beforehand. It was longer than the way to Seigaku had been when he'd visited there with Ryoma, and to the other direction entirely, but nothing Dan-kun couldn't handle. He'd seemed fairly happy to join his friends again for the morning practice. The others certainly had looked happy to be welcoming their captain back. Ryoga wasn't sure if this meant he was a popular captain or just wise enough one to have a more unpopular vice-captain, but either way, it had looked like a pleasant way to return to school after being sick.

If only that had been the only thing wrong with Dan-kun... but then, such things couldn't be helped. They'd get some clarity to the matter soon enough. And after they had gotten the answers... well, then it would be time for some more decisions.

Ryoga had never thought of himself as a particularly domestic person. Sure, he could keep his surroundings clean and do the dishes and such, and he supposed that if it ever came down to it he could learn to feed himself as well, but generally housework wasn't exactly his idea of a good time. Now, however, he found himself fairly easily slipping into some peculiar state of mind where his body worked while his mind mulled over other things entirely, turning the facts and questions over and over in his mind while his hands were taking books off the shelves and stacking them up on the desk, reaching to the top shelf to wipe off the worst of the dust, opening the window to let in some fresh air.

Regardless of how long Dan-kun was going to be staying, Ryoga supposed it wouldn't hurt to get the room ready for him. The boy wouldn't have dreamed of complaining, he was just too polite for that, but even Ryoga could tell he wasn't entirely comfortable with living in someone else's room, even if said someone wasn't even in the same country right now. The guest room should at least be a step up from that, however little comfort that might be. If everything went all right, Dan-kun would return to his home after the test results came, but at least until then he wouldn't have to feel like an intruder.

And if the results weren't the best they could hope for... well. In that case, he supposed it would be about the time to get a better bed into the room.

Leaving the door open as he half danced down the corridor in his search of fresh sheets for the bed instead of the ones that had been gathering dust for who knew how long, music pouring from his headphones to chase away the silence of the empty house, he found himself wondering what it would be like if Dan-kun was staying indefinitely. These few days they had certainly gotten on well enough, but then Dan-kun had been sick and not exactly at his most active. And besides, whenever he was around Ryoma, they could very well get along for a little while but sooner or later they started to argue, sometimes over the most trivial of matters. He supposed he would just have to wait and see if it ever even came to that. If everything went well, after all, Dan-kun would be able to return to his own home.

Akutsu's words, however, echoed in his head, making him wonder if that really was the best option. Akutsu certainly knew more about Dan's family than he did. If he said it might be bad, then Ryoga could hardly argue, but...

Shaking his head at such thoughts, he forced himself to chase the doubts from his mind as he poked around in the linen closet that Nanako kept in an admirable order. Her work was certainly visible around the house, even though she could only rarely be seen there, herself. In the few days Dan-kun had spent sick she'd only been home perhaps once, not making too much of a fuss over their new visitor beyond making sure Ryoga was taking good care of him. She still wouldn't tell him exactly where she was spending her time, and Ryoga didn't feel he had any right to pry. She was an adult woman, after all, even older than he was; she had the right to her own life, no matter how curious he was. And then, he was sure she would tell him something eventually. Hopefully sooner rather than later. He really was getting curious.

Returning to the guest room with his findings he quickly changed the bed, then checked the desk. It was a bit worn but otherwise seemed fine, still sturdy despite its age. There were some odds and ends in the desk drawers and in the closet, but then he was sure he'd seen some empty boxes in the storage room. It shouldn't take too long to pack up all the miscellaneous stuff and the forgotten books.

It felt oddly exhilarating, he mused, making the room all new and empty so it could be made into someone's own. He'd felt about the same when he'd first started taking up his own room in the house, filling up the empty space with the things that people tended to fill up space with to claim their territory, a magazine here and a poster there and a forgotten sock under the chair. Of course, this room wasn't for him, but it would hopefully be as nice for Dan-kun.

Glancing at his watch as he finished with the cleaning, he realized there was still time left until Dan-kun was supposed to return. Excellent. Now he could just lounge around without worrying about things such as dinner yet. ...Or better even, he could try and make himself feel useful for another bit and get the boy's stuff from Ryoma's room.

Strangely enough he felt like the intruder, here, peeking into his little brother's room. It was still Ryoma's room, clearly, but with a bit off an odd, almost foreign flavour to it from the few things he saw lying around. Dan-kun's tennis bag and school bag were away from the corner he'd seen them placed at, earlier, but there was still the laptop closed on the desk, and a notebook forgotten on the bed, along with other things. Gathering up everything he was fairly sure belonged to Dan-kun he then carried them over to the guest room, arranging them more or less neatly about. He was sure Dan-kun would have his own preferences as to where put everything, but that wasn't any reason to leave everything in some random heap. God, Nanako really would have been proud to see him now. He could just as well change his name to Ryoko and start wearing an apron.

"I'm home desu," he heard a faint voice somewhere from the direction of the entrance. Grinning as he placed Dan-kun's laptop approximately the same way it'd been on Ryoma's desk, he then emerged from the room.

"Welcome home," he said, walking into the hallway. He couldn't help but smile as he saw Dan-kun. The kid seemed actually cheerful, which was always a good thing. "How was school? Problems?"

"Well, I've got plenty of homework piled up, and I really need to get back to practice, but otherwise everything's great," Dan replied, grinning. "And you? I hope you weren't too bored all by yourself?"

"Oh, I can manage." Ryoga chuckled. "I watched some TV... oh, and I've got a little surprise for you."

"Oh?" the kid raised his eyebrows that would have almost been reminiscent of Ryoma if not for the absence of a smug grin on his face. Heh. Cute.

"Well, you know how you said you felt like you were intruding on Chibisuke's room?" As Dan nodded a bit warily, he grinned. "Well, I indeed got kinda bored... so I cleaned up the guest room and took your stuff there."

"Ah, you shouldn't have!" Dan's eyes went even wider than usual. "I mean, um, thank you... I mean, I do feel like I'm intruding on Echizen-kun's space, but you shouldn't have gone to such trouble for me, at least you should have let me clean it myself desu..."

"Oh, stop whining." Ryoga ruffled the boy's hair. It was even better for ruffling than Chibisuke's, all soft and fluffy and naturally messy. "It helped me not get bored, ne? Besides," he added with a grin, "now that you're all right again, I can always guilt you into making us dinner."

"Ah... yes." Dan actually smiled. "I'd like that." He actually looked like he meant it, too. Well, all the better. Ryoga felt like he was starving, quite frankly.

"Excellent! No take-out today," Ryoga announced cheerfully. "Come on, though, I'll show you the room." He beckoned Dan-kun to follow, showing him the way to the guest room. "I hope you don't mind me touching your things," he then thought to say. "I swear I didn't snoop around or anything... you should probably still check Chibisuke's room, though; I'm not entirely sure I got all of your stuff."

"Ah, it's okay, really." Dan nodded vigorously. "You really shouldn't have gone into such trouble... I mean, I probably won't even be here for long, so..." He trailed off.

"Stop that, okay? How I spend my spare time is absolutely no business of yours," Ryoga sighed even as he opened the room. "Ta-dah! ...Well, it's nothing glorious or anything, but it should be better than being shoved into someone else's place."

"Ah, it really is. Thank you, Ryoga-san desu." Dan gave him a grateful little smile before walking inside, setting his things neatly by the wall. Such a well-behaved kid. He'd probably been dropped on your head or something, he was so extraordinary. "This is just great."

"Glad you like it." Ryoga grinned. "If you really want to make dinner, kitchen should be pretty well stocked, I think... I'll help, too, not that there's much that I know how to do, mind. At least I know how to do the dishes," he said triumphantly. "And after we've eaten, I can show you the tennis court. If you're not too tired or swamped with your homework or something, that is."

"I do have a lot of homework," Dan said a bit hesitantly, then grinned and added, "but there's always time for a quick game or two, of course."

"Of course." Ryoga gave him a conspiratorial smile, which then faded into a more serious look. "Oh, and your mother called. She'd... agreed on things with your school. You should go to see the school nurse at some point tomorrow... she'll take the DNA sample and send it along. Don't worry about it, really. Nobody needs to know what it's about unless you want to tell them."

"Ano... all right." Dan's nod was rather less enthusiastic this time. "I… how long does it take?"

"She said it's a few business days to a week once they've gotten all three samples." Ryoga tried to look encouraging. He wasn't sure if he managed, but at least he was trying, right? "…Hey, kid… no matter how the results turn out, it'll be all right." After all, he'd made a promise both to the kid and to himself that he'd see this through, no matter what happened.

"…I hope desu." Dan bit his lip even as he started to take off his school uniform, apparently either oblivious to or uncaring about the fact Ryoga was still standing in the doorway. Not like it mattered much, anyway; they were both boys here, after all. "It's just… I don't even know who that other man is… And then if Dad isn't my Dad after all…"

For a moment, Ryoga stood silently, not knowing what to say. On one hand, there was no need to complicate things, especially if it turned out Dan Takehiko was indeed Dan-kun's biological father. On the other hand, the boy would certainly wonder no matter what the tests said… Ryoga certainly knew he had wondered for years, mulling over what ifs and whys. But it also wasn't his place to say anything, was it? He was only indirectly involved here… "It'll be all right," he mumbled, feeling somewhat awkward.

"…I guess." Dan sighed, folding and hanging his uniform neatly before looking through the clothes Ryoga had salvaged from Ryoma's room to find something else to wear. "I mean… at least it's just two possibilities, right? And my mother says it must be one of them… Akutsu-senpai doesn't even know a single name. Yuuki-chan's really nice, but she doesn’t like discussing those things, not even with Akutsu-senpai…"

"I didn't know until just recently, either," Ryoga murmured. "I always had my suspicions, but I didn't know for sure."

"Still, it must be nice to know," sighed Dan. "To know and not have to wonder…"

"Dan-kun…" Ryoga sighed, sitting down on the bed. Well. He guessed the boy would have to know sooner or later. "Sit down. I want to tell you something."

"Oh?" The boy looked a bit wary, but took a seat anyway. Excellent. Ryoga didn't think he was going to exactly faint at the news, but at least their eyes were now at the same level. "About your father?"

"Well… kind of. It touches the same subject, certainly." Ryoga tilted his head to the side, looking at the boy. The eyes were different, but… he really did look an awful lot like Ryoma. "Remember when I told you that… other man… isn't personally available right now?"

"Yeah…" Dan nodded warily. "Mum said they were going to get a sample from his eldest son instead desu."

"Indeed. And before you think of any apparently logical questions, yes, it is certain said eldest son is his." Ryoga looked at Dan seriously. "I've been tested, too."

Dan's eyes went even wider. "You – do you mean – but, ah, Ryoga-san…"

"I do mean." Ryoga gave him a slightly twisted smile. "According to your mother, there are only two possibilities for your biological father. It's either Dan Takehiko… or Echizen Nanjirou."

"But… ah…" Dan gathered his thoughts for a moment, then finally said, "But… did you know?"

"Well… yes and no." Ryoga shook his head. "I mean… when I told you he had no idea your mother had a son, I meant it. I was watching some recordings Inui-kun had sent to Chibisuke, and thought you looked familiar. However, our father said you couldn’t be his because he hadn't been in Japan around the correct time, so that was that… we did manage to get him to take us to Japan, though."

"…And then you heard I was a preemie," murmured the boy quietly.

"And then we heard you were a preemie, yes." Ryoga nodded seriously. "He… called your mother after that. Said he wanted to clear things up while he still can… for your sake."

"I… see." Dan bit his lip. "Is – is that why you –"

"Why I told you could stay here? No." Ryoga shook his head, doing his best to smile at least a bit. "I'd have done the same anyway. As I said, you remind me of Chibisuke, and besides… Akutsu would have killed me if he'd found out I didn't help you." Okay, there. A smile. A smile was a good leap forward. Most excellent. "I've said it often enough, I should think. It's not about the genes."

"…It certainly seems to be, to some people." Dan seemed to… shrink, almost. "He just told me to get out…"

"Hey, it's his loss." Ryoga almost wanted to go over and hug the boy, but that wasn't exactly in his usual selection of social responses, so he instead just gave the kid another smile. "If you still feel you shouldn't go home after the tests… well, nobody else's using this room, see? And that's regardless of the actual results. Just… if you feel like you should."

"I'll… keep that in mind desu." Dan gave him a faint smile. "…Thank you, Ryoga-san."

"Hey, don't thank me." Standing up, Ryoga stepped closer to ruffle the boy's hair, amused at the half-hearted protests. "…Sorry I didn't say anything earlier. I just didn't want to… complicate things."

"No… it's all right." Dan sighed. "I… I can see why it'd be a difficult subject to you, too."

"You can say that." Ryoga rolled his eyes. "I mean, I've always known the old man is a pervert and just a total bastard in general, but…"

"That's not a very nice way to talk about your father, you know." Dan gave him a faint smile, then grimaced. "…And now I'm thinking of my mother actually… going out with him desu."

Ryoga made a face. "My advice? Don't." He shook his head. "That's just… not something human minds were meant to contemplate." Especially if one thought any further than just the most chaste of dates. "…So. Dinner?"

"Sounds like a good idea." Just then, a faint growling sound could be heard from the boy's direction. Dan looked embarrassed. "…And we'd better hurry, apparently…"

"Heh. You got it, kid." Ryoga patted him on the shoulder. "Just tell me what to do. Preferably something that won't give me a chance to chop my fingers into itty bitty pieces."

"I'll try to think of something desu." Dan actually managed a little grin, now, trying to smoothen down the hair Ryoga had ruffled up earlier. He wasn't very successful.

"Excellent." Ryoga returned the grin. "Now, let's go before your stomach decides to start eating itself."

If Dan did make some form of protest upon Ryoga hurrying him towards the kitchen, it was solely over the fact that stomachs per se didn't eat anything.

*

Ryoga had been half expecting Akutsu to show up again sooner or later. He certainly knew Dan had been expecting it, looking forward to it, even. The growing impatience was almost visible in the air as the days passed by with no sign of Akutsu. Dan didn't talk too much about what they had discussed, but Ryoga could certainly make some educated guesses. From a few offhand comments he got the feeling Dan feared he had… well, not exactly scared Akutsu away, as he doubted anyone could accomplish that, but certainly discouraged him from returning. And this quite obviously upset the kid.

It was around when Ryoga was actually starting to feel suicidal enough to contemplate various ways to get back at Akutsu for this transgression that the thug finally decided to show up. As soon as he did, Ryoga almost wished he hadn't. Seeing his dear senpai like this would probably upset Dan more than his not showing up at all. The bruises and minor cuts looked bad enough, but Ryoga didn't have to be a medical expert to spot some more serious injuries as well. Akutsu looked pale, even for his usual complexion, and his movements suggested some serious pain whenever his tough front faltered for a fraction of a second.

"Woah. What chewed you up like that?" Ryoga asked before he could stop himself.

"None of your fucking business," Akutsu growled, glaring at him. "…Where's Taichi?"

"Back around the house, beating a ball at the wall, I believe," Ryoga replied, then frowned. "You sure you want him to see you like that? The poor thing will worry himself to death."

"Che." Akutsu rolled his eyes. "He might be stupid enough to worry, yeah, but he knows damn well something like this won't kill me."

"There's quite a bit of territory between 'not hurt' and 'dead,'" Ryoga pointed out, not about to give in even when faced with Akutsu's crude behavior. It was obvious the boy was aggressive, yes, but he was adamant not to show any fear. Obviously there weren't many authority figures in Akutsu's life, and he didn't think he was cut out to be one, either, but he'd be damned if he let himself be threatened by a lovesick kid in his own house. Thus he paid no mind to Akutsu's glare and the words that half left his mouth, instead nodding his head towards the back of the house. "Come on. Let's go and let him have at you."

As they arrived at the courts behind the house, Dan was indeed beating a ball against a wall, just as Ryoga had predicted. For a moment he didn't even notice their arrival, focused as he was on returning the ball time and time again. Ryoga couldn't help but pause for a moment, simply watching the boy. He did enjoy tennis, himself, and considered himself good at it, but he had never to his knowledge pursued it with such a… single-minded stubbornness. He also wasn't sure if this counted as a point for himself or Dan.

Akutsu, it appeared, wasn't quite as prone to philosophical ponderings. "Oi, Taichi," he called out, then, as there was no visible reaction, louder, "Taichi!" After a third shout, the boy finally came to a stop, one hand reaching out to grab the ball currently bouncing back. Dan then turned half towards them, wiping sweat from his forehead with the band wrapped in multiple layers around his fragile little wrist.

"Akutsu-senpai!" The kid's eyes almost literally lit up as he saw the boy in question, smiling brightly as Akutsu started striding towards him. However, the smile faded away almost just as quickly as it had appeared, replaced by a concerned look. "Akutsu-senpai, what on Earth happened to you? You look horrible!"

"It's nothing permanent." As though that was going to keep the kid from worrying, Ryoga mused as he watched Dan hurrying closer, practice completely forgotten for the moment. "I was just… running some errands."

"What do you mean by that?" Dan frowned, looking at him questioningly – and, Ryoga fancied, not without a certain amount of doubt. "What kind of errands would make you look like this?"

"Just taking care of some unfinished business." As Dan got close enough, Akutsu's hands reached out apparently almost unconsciously, settling themselves on Dan's shoulders. The boy didn't seem to even notice. "…Remember those guys you were listing off last time I was here?"

Dan nodded, apparently well aware of whatever it was Akutsu was referring to. "Of course desu." Judging by his serious expression, Ryoga certainly would have liked to know what it was about, too.

"Well…" Akutsu scratched the back of his head. "You can strike Takeda, Kimura, and Hasuza off the damn list."

For a moment Dan was just silent, eyes tracing over Akutsu's appearance, taking in all the injuries and wounds and bruises. As he finally spoke, it was quietly. "…And the rest?"

"…Working on it." Akutsu's hands slid from Dan's shoulders to his arms. "Don't expect a bloody miracle, Taichi. There's a lot of names there."

"I know desu." And suddenly, Dan drew himself close, slender arms reaching to circle Akutsu's waist as he hid his face in the older boy's chest. Akutsu looked bewildered for a moment before settling his own arms around Dan's shoulders. "You shouldn't be getting hurt," Dan murmured, voice muffled. "Not like this… not because of me desu."

"Don't think too much of yourself," murmured Akutsu, apparently completely oblivious to Ryoga's presence by now. "It's not because of you… they're my problems, not yours. You're just… an incentive to solve them."

By now, Ryoga had at least some inkling as to what was going on. "…You've been resolving your fights." It wasn't a question.

"Maybe." Akutsu didn't seem about to let go of Dan just yet. "None of your fucking business, though."

"Well, it kind of is my business," Ryoga pointed out. "As long as the kid stays here, he's my responsibility, and anything that leaves you in that bad a condition obviously has a chance of hurting him, too." His gaze was stern, now, though it softened almost automatically as his eyes met Dan. The boy seemed even smaller than usual, clinging to Akutsu like that.

"It doesn't," Akutsu said calmly, meeting his eyes levelly. "I'm not fucking going to let him get hurt."

Ah, yes. There it was again, the protectiveness. Ryoga tried his best not to chuckle; he was fairly sure Akutsu would not have appreciated that very much. Instead, he just smiled a bit and shrugged. "Whatever you say," he said lightly. "In any case, it's getting pretty late; I do think we should be thinking about dinner some time soon."

"Ah, right!" Dan looked a bit flustered, finally pushing himself partly away from Akutsu though still not entirely leaving the circle of his arms. "I'm sorry, I should have thought of it earlier, I really didn't realize how late it was –"

"Okay, okay, slow down, kid," Ryoga chuckled. "It's not that late, yet, and in any case, you're not solely responsible for dinner, okay? If we were to start blaming people, I'd be just as much at fault since I didn't really think of it before, either, but really there's been no crime committed so obviously neither of us is at fault at all." He actually dared to reach out a hand to pat on Dan's head, braving Akutsu's rather possessive glare to do so. Oh, yes, definitely protective. Good. Perhaps he wasn't making an absolutely fatal mistake in trusting Dan's happiness in such rough hands.

Ryoga didn't really ask Akutsu to stay over for dinner and the boy didn't ask, either; it was simply sort of assumed, a somewhat natural conclusion. Dan seemed to think little of employing his senpai's services in preparing the dinner as well, and to Ryoga's surprise Akutsu did as instructed with only some minor disgruntlement, quickly chopping vegetables into rather neat little pieces. Then, he got the bad feeling that things involving sharp knives weren't exactly that laborious for someone like Akutsu. Okay, not thinking about that. Not when even such a grim-looking thug made a face when Dan bumped into him in the wrong way. Dan didn't notice anything, though, and thanks to Akutsu's rather threatening glare Ryoga didn't mention it, either. He quite frankly supposed that whatever was the extent of Akutsu's wounds, discovering the fact would not be even nearly worth the worry it would cause to Dan.

They certainly were cute, he concluded, in their own weird way, sitting just that close to each other at the table, arms brushing against each other every now and then. Occasionally Dan would look up with the sort of a shy smile that seemed just perfect for an innocent first love, not that anything could be truly innocent when Akutsu was involved, and sometimes when Akutsu apparently thought nobody was looking he would give Dan a look that was not exactly as full of pure adoration and shy affection but certainly enough to confirm Ryoga's previous assumptions of a sense of protectiveness running much deeper than the boy probably wanted to admit even to himself. Then, he could have told as much simply from the condition Akutsu had shown up in. If he was willing to bear that much damage simply to ensure that Dan wouldn't get caught in his fights, Ryoga supposed he could trust Akutsu not to get Dan mixed into his battles in the future, either.

He wasn't exactly going to say he gave them his blessing, that was hardly anything in his power and besides he was quite sure Akutsu would have hit him if he'd even tried to say it, but he certainly hoped them success.

Then, surely not even someone like Akutsu could be cruel enough to break Dan's heart.

*

"…I see." Ryoga nodded briefly, listening to some more of the details listed. "I understand. And when will we receive a copy of the official statement? Yes, of course… yes, I understand." He nodded again, not that the person at the other end of the line could see it. "Thank you. Yes, I'll be in touch. Bye."

Sitting heavily in an armchair, he let the call end, staring at the phone. Of course, he had known to expect the results around now, but still, it was… too soon, in a way. Too soon, and yet far too late. There just wasn't a right time for something like this, was there?

After a moment of gathering himself, though, he dialed another number, this time out of country. He didn't even bother looking at the clock or trying to make any calculations based on it; he had been simply instructed to call as soon as the results were in, no matter what the time of the day. And that was exactly what he was doing, waiting for the call to be picked up. Finally, it was. Time for the truth, then.

"Ryoga," he heard the not so enthusiastic greeting from the other end of the line. He decided to give his father the benefit of doubt and assume this was solely because he was expected to bring, well… news. "Any word of the test results yet?"

Ryoga drew a deep breath, then exhaled, sinking even deeper into his seat. However much he had expected it, actually saying it loud was still another matter entirely. "Congratulations," he finally managed to say. "It's a boy."


	5. Strange

It was still kind of weird, Dan mused, taking the other way home from school. He was starting to get used to it, sure, to know the landmarks and shops and such along the way, but he still sometimes felt as though he should have turned around and gone the other way. He could no more walk home together with Muromachi-senpai, either, like he'd occasionally done before. Senpai hadn't asked him about it yet, not even though Dan was sure he'd spotted him leaving the school in what appeared the wrong direction, and Dan wasn't ready to explain it yet, either. Mostly he just avoided leaving school at the same time, which was kind of tricky, considering they were the captain and vice-captain of the club. Surely everything would go back to normal soon, he kept assuring himself. Surely soon, no explanations would be needed.

Today, no explanation had thankfully been needed, as Muromachi-senpai had told Dan he needed to run an errand for his mother and thus leave early to make it before the store he needed to go to closed. Dan had smiled and nodded, yes of course it's all right, and promised to take care of locking up though technically it would have been Muromachi-senpai's turn. He still owed him a few times for the time he'd been sick, anyway.

For all that he smiled at his players as they left for home one by one, Dan didn't feel exactly cheerful as he finally locked up the clubroom and lifted his own bag to his shoulder. The school day had been a particularly wearing one – a double lesson of Chemistry wasn't exactly his idea of fun – and with both a morning and afternoon practice, he was just as worn out as everyone else. While the tiredness was nothing special, it didn't exactly make it any easier to deal with his less than cheerful thoughts about the whole situation with his family. Whatever that constituted now, anyway.

He certainly could have been faster in walking home than he was now, all but shuffling his feet as he made his way down the street, one hand tracing the wall surrounding the school grounds. In all honesty, he was in no hurry to get home… well, to the Echizen house. Not because he had anything against living with Ryoga-san and Nanako-san, but… well. Ryoga-san had said the results would take up to a week to arrive… and it'd been almost a week, now. Which meant that every day that passed raised the chances of the results coming in.

It was silly to be this hesitant, he knew. After all, he did want to know the results… did want to know if his life would go back to normal. As normal as it could, anyway, after this. Yet at the same time, he was almost… afraid to know. Afraid to hear what he thought he would hear. That his Dad wasn't his father. That everything about him was… wrong.

"Boo!" The combination of the sudden exclamation right next to his ear and the hand landing on his shoulder made Dan quite literally jump in fright. Spinning around, heart beating rapidly, he found himself looking at a very familiar, grinning face set between a head of red hair and a Yamabuki High uniform.

"Sengoku-senpai!" he huffed. "You startled me desu!"

"Yeah, well, I kinda noticed that," Sengoku chuckled. "I kind of thought I spotted you going this way yesterday, too, but figured I'd seen some other tiny middle school kid with blue hair and a tennis bag. You live the other way, right? So, what's up? Got a date to hurry to or something?"

"I wish," murmured Dan, eyes darting to the side. "It's… nothing. Just, nothing desu."

"Like hell it's nothing." Sengoku rolled his eyes, falling into a step beside Dan as he started walking again. "I ran into Panda-kun the other day, and he said he's been worried about you, too. Said you've been skittish for a while now, and then sick and staying someplace else… and ever since you came back to school after that you've been leaving school alone." He frowned. "You aren't being bullied or something, are you?"

"That's not it, no." Dan sighed. "…I don't think anyone would dare desu."

"Ah, yes, you've got your dear Akuchu watching your back." Despite his misery, Dan couldn't help a tiny, embarrassed smile at that. Yes, he did indeed have Akutsu. "So what is it? Family trouble or something?"

"Well… yes." Dan bit his lip again. "…Remember what I told you a while back? About my parents… arguing? Over me?"

"About… whether your father's really your father?" Sengoku-senpai frowned but nodded. "Yes, I remember. They still going at it?"

Dan drew a deep breath before exhaling. "…We're waiting for the results of the DNA test," he murmured, barely audibly.

"…Oh." Sengoku-senpai was quiet for a while. "That bad?"

"Well… Mum's already admitted it's… a possibility," Dan said. "That she slept with two men around that time… now the question's just which one I've got my genes from desu."

"That… that must suck." Sengoku-senpai shook his head. "I… do you have any idea who…"

"Actually, yeah." Dan nodded, trying to summon a little smile onto his face. "I… I've been staying with my… possible brother desu." It really was kind of a weird thought, being related to Ryoga-san. To… Ryoma-kun. The Echizen Ryoma.

"Really?" Sengoku's eyes widened. "Any chance I know him, too?"

"Not this one, no, I don't think so." After all, even Dan himself hadn't known about Ryoga-san's existence until just recently. "But… if it's true, I'm the youngest of three brothers… and I know for a fact you know the other one desu."

"Going to make me guess, now?" Sengoku raised his eyebrow. "You should know that'll never end well for you. Any more hints, or shall I start guessing among all guys I know with a father and one brother?"

"Most people do have a father, I should hope," Dan murmured. Whether or not it was a biological one. "And I doubt you even know he has a brother. …I've copied moves from him."

"Well, yeah. You've copied moves from a whole lot of people," Sengoku said, rolling his eyes. "That isn't exactly narrowing it down a lot, especially since you always hide your best moves until you've got no choice but to reveal them. I'm lucky, but not psychic."

"The place I've been staying at," Dan continued. "It's within walking distance from Yamabuki, obviously… and at least one other private school with a tennis club."

He could almost see the gears revolving inside Sengoku's head as he went through any nearby schools. There wasn't exactly a sound as they hit their target, but his senpai's eyes did widen. "…Wait. You can't mean…"

Dan merely looked at him calmly, not about to give any more hints.

"…Echizen?"

Dan nodded. It was the correct guess, after all.

"I… wow. I mean… seriously?" As Dan nodded again, Sengoku shook his head as though in disbelief. "But… that'd mean… your real father's a pro player, right? Echizen Nanjirou?"

"Nothing's certain yet," Dan murmured, looking away. "But… it's a possibility."

"But that's awesome!" Sengoku blurted, then froze. "No, I mean, I didn't mean it like that… of course it's not awesome if your Dad's not your father, that was really mean of me to say, but… just think! How great would it be to have a former pro for a dad?"

"I doubt I'll know either way desu," Dan sighed. "Echizen-san's currently overseas… his health's been in decline. Ryoga-san said he might never come to Japan again…"

"Oh." Sengoku's face fell. "That’s… you just keep getting the bad luck, eh?"

"Tell me about it desu," Dan said dryly. "At least Ryoga-san has been really nice to me. Echizen Ryoga," he clarified as Sengoku gave him a questioning look at the second mention of the name. "Ryoma-kun's big brother. I've been staying with him and his cousin at his father's house. He's let me take over the guest room… he said I can stay however long I need to, even if… even if I'm not his brother."

"That's great at least." Sengoku patted his shoulder. "Hey… Dan-kun… it'll be all right, you know."

"Will it, though?" Dan murmured, unable to stop himself from voicing his doubts. "I mean… I don't even know who I am, anymore. No matter how those tests come back, my parents will just continue fighting, and Mina must be really scared and confused, and it's soon been two weeks since I last saw her or Tomi or anyone, and…"

"It will be all right," Sengoku repeated, as though hearing it again would have made it any more true. "I'm sure of it. And you know why? Because you won't let it be any other way." He ruffled Dan's hair. "I mean… if it goes south and this gets public, some people might think less of you… but those people are the ones who don't matter, right? And on the court, it really doesn't matter who your father is and who isn't. Sure, some pro genes might help you along, but in the end it comes down to the ball and the racquet and how you use them."

"…I guess." Dan managed another weak smile. "…You can be surprisingly insightful sometimes, Sengoku-senpai desu."

"Yeah, well, blame my sister. She likes reciting aphorisms at the dinner table." Sengoku chuckled and gave Dan's hair another ruffle. "…Don't make a liar out of me, now," he said. "Don't let this mess get you down. We're waiting for you to join the high school team in a year and a half, and you'd damn well better do so, whether as Echizen or Dan or even bloody Akutsu." He paused. "And don't give me that look. Everyone with ears at the high school knows he's been going around settling his grudges one way or another, and we all know there's only one person who could have made him do that."

"I haven't made him do anything," Dan protested, though he had to admit to feeling relieved. If even Sengoku-senpai had heard about it, it had to be for real. "He just… said he didn't want me to get hurt."

"There, see? From Akuchu, that's almost as good as a marriage proposal." Sengoku grinned as Dan flushed in embarrassment. "…You know, this is about the point where you're supposed to tell me there's nothing like that going on between you two."

"Well," Dan murmured, "you did tell me not to make you a liar."

It was almost comical, the way Sengoku's eyes widened at this. "…Wait, what?" he blurted out. "You mean… he's actually done something about it?"

"He agreed that we're… dating, if that's what you mean," Dan said, trying to keep his voice level despite the blush he could feel intensifying all over his face. Akutsu-senpai hadn't said it yet, not in as many words, but then he didn't have to. Dan knew him well enough to read between the lines.

"Wow. I mean… just, wow. That was unexpected." Sengoku shook his head. "Kenta'll be happy to hear he's won, though. I'd put my money on around Christmas or so. I really thought Akuchu'd be more stubborn than that."

"Wait, what?" Dan blinked. "You mean… you've been betting on…"

"On when the two of you would get together? Well, of course," Sengoku replied lightly. "The pool's been going on for about a year now. And I thought I had a really good shot at it, too… you sure you wouldn't want to keep it a secret for another few months?"

"We're going to keep it pretty much under the wraps anyway," Dan murmured. Sure, telling his friends should be okay, but he doubted either of them was exactly ready to make it public. "Akutsu-senpai, he… he said he doesn't want me to get into any trouble because of him."

"Yeah, well, he's not exactly the poster boy for making friends, is he?" Sengoku shook his head. "I… that's really great, you know. You two are good for each other." He gave Dan a lopsided grin. "…I'm pretty sure you're the only one he'd be good for."

"I'd like to think so," Dan chuckled. It seemed kind of surreal, that Akutsu-senpai would actually like him back. Surreal, and definitely great. He felt almost giddy just thinking about it.

"Oh, look at the time!" Sengoku exclaimed, glancing at his watch. "I promised to meet Kenta ten minutes ago… but, hey, try and cheer up, okay?" He gave Dan one final pat on the shoulder. "Just call me if you want to talk about anything, all right? And don't forget we're all meeting up for pizza next week." He winked. "Try and drag Akuchu along, too!"

"I'll try my best desu," Dan promised, waving as Sengoku hurried off. He was actually feeling a bit more cheerful right now, unbelievable though it might have seemed. Sengoku-senpai often had that effect.

The cheer, however, faded away rather soon as he arrived at the house. "I'm home," he called out, toeing off his shoes before dropping down his bag and putting on his slippers. Nanako-chan, during one of her rare appearances, had insisted he had to have his own pair if he was going to stay over, given that none of the guest slippers actually fit him.

"Welcome home," he heard Ryoga's voice from the living room. There was a strangely serious tone to it, making Dan fear the worst. Ryoga never sounded that serious without a reason, in his rather limited experience, anyway.

"Ah… Ryoga-san?" he asked, pausing at the door to the living room. Ryoga was standing by the bookshelf but walked closer at his arrival. Dan ran a hand through his hair. "I… has there been any word yet?" He wasn't sure what answer to hope for.

"Actually… yes." Ryoga halted a step or two from him, eyes wandering to the side. "I called the clinic earlier. The results are in."

Well. That solved that question, then. Meaning only the important one remained. "…And?"

"The Y-chromosome from your DNA sample matched perfectly one of the other samples," Ryoga said, his tone quiet. "…Mine."

"I… see," Dan said, equally quiet. So… it was true. Echizen Nanjirou really was his biological father… instead of Dan Takehiko.

"Your… Dan-san also called," Ryoga continued, his tone still quiet. "He's going to take the matter to the family court… and officially disavow his paternity."

Dan nodded, swallowing. He… had pretty much expected that, much though it hurt to admit it. It certainly wasn't surprising, given the prior events. If he was not welcome to the house over mere doubts… "I understand," he murmured, nodding again. Almost unconsciously, he hugged himself. Somehow, he felt awfully cold.

"And in turn… my father is planning to claim it." Finally, Ryoga looked up at him, his gaze serious. "Your father. You aren't just going to be stranded… Taichi."

Biting his lip, Dan mumbled a vague acknowledgement. Yes. Taichi. He… wasn't going to be Dan anymore, was he. Not after everything was… done. "I… what should I call you?" he murmured. After all, the formality of 'Ryoga-san' seemed rather misplaced if they were going to be brothers. Were brothers.

"Anything you'd like to." Ryoga gave him a faint smile. "Though I do reserve the right to protest should you call me an idiot. And mark my words, I will whack you if you give me Ryoga-san one more time. You have no excuse now." He shook his head. "…Chibisuke seems to favour aniki, for what it's worth."

"…Aniki," Dan echoed, trying the word out. He… supposed he could get used to it eventually. "I suppose… I'll continue living here, right?"

"Right." Ryoga nodded in confirmation, apparently hesitating before he went on, "Dan-san said he'll be out of the house this Saturday… so you should get the rest of your things then."

"I see." Dan let his gaze fall. It seemed so… bizarre, really. He'd been living in that house all his life, and all of a sudden, he… wasn't allowed there. It really didn't seem fair. His mother was still there, wasn't she? And his sister. Well, half-sister, he supposed. And his dog.

"So, I hope you don't have too much planned for the next few afternoons," Ryoga added. "We've got a lot to do." As Dan gave him a questioning gaze, he smiled, more brightly this time. "The guestroom was maybe passable for a short stay, but no way are we going to leave it like that if you're going to be here permanently," he said. "Meaning we'll have to get it cleaned and painted before you fill it with your things. Do some furniture shopping, too; the bookshelf's really kinda small, and both the bed and the desk have seen better days. And don't even think about protesting," he said, raising a finger to silence him. "If you're going to be staying here, you'd damn well better feel at home in your own room. I won't let social service ship you out because the bed collapses under you."

Dan might have pointed out the bed wasn't going to collapse any time soon, it had probably been built to stand a good-sized earth quake, but he chose not to. Ryoga-san was probably feeling disoriented as well, and if this helped him deal with it, the least Dan could do was not protest. "…Okay," he thus said, nodding. "I do have normal afternoon practices, but nothing else."

"Great." Ryoga smiled, and then turned serious again. "…I mean it, you know. That I want you to feel at home here. I haven't lived here that much longer, either, so I guess we can try and get used to it together, eh?" He ruffled Dan's hair, why was everyone always ruffling his hair like that, and said, "I mean, look at the bright side of things. Until the next school year starts, I'll have nothing to do except play tennis and help you with homework."

Now, Dan finally managed a small smile. "In that case, I hope you like Chemistry… aniki."

It was going to be weird… but maybe he could live with it.

*

"…Tai-nii?"

Taichi looked up from where he was packing his notebooks into one of the few boxes currently taking over the floor of his room. His former room, anyway. After this day, it wouldn't be his anymore. "…Mina." He gave his little sister a faint smile. "Come here."

Mina walked slowly closer, looking a bit hesitant. However, as he reached out his arms, she quickly dashed into them, hugging him tightly. "…Mum said you're moving away desu," she murmured.

"Well… yes desu." No point in denying that, was there, given what he was doing. "Not very far, but yes, I am."

"But… why?" Mina drew away just enough to look him in the eye. She looked like she was about to cry. "This is your home!"

"Not anymore, Mina," he said quietly, trying his best not to cry, himself. He needed to stay calm for her sake. "Dad doesn't want me here."

"Why doesn't he?" she asked, such a simple question yet anything but.

"Because… Dad isn't really my Dad," sighed Taichi. It was all too complicated for her to understand. After all, it seemed too complicated for him as well. "So, he says his house isn't my home."

Mina's bottom lip trembled. "…Are you not my brother anymore?" she asked, tears finally spilling over. Taichi lifted a hand to wipe them away.

"I'll always be your brother, Mina," he promised. "I've just got two brothers of my own, now. And you'll get to be the princess of the house, too. Nobody else to steal the cookies."

"But I'm scared, Tai-nii," she murmured. "Mum and Dad keep yelling at each other desu…"

"I'm sure they'll get enough of it soon," he assured her. They'd better. She had nothing to do with any of this; it just wasn't right for her to get hurt as well. "It's not your fault, Mina. You haven't done anything. You have no reason to be scared."

"But you didn't do anything neither, Tai-nii desu." She shook her head. "You're just you."

"…I know." He hugged her close again. "Look, Mina… adults are strange sometimes, all right? You'll understand when you get older." Hopefully. He certainly was yet to understand it.

"I don't want you to go desu," Mina murmured.

"I know. And I don't want to go," he replied. "But I'm not going far, all right? Maybe you and Mum can come and visit sometimes desu. I've got a room there, now, with a brand new bookshelf and everything. This one here was getting too small."

"And stars, right?" Mina asked.

"Of course," Taichi assured her, nodding. The only request he'd had in renewing the room had been his old dream of having the ceiling painted dark blue with stars on it. It really looked quite nice for such a quick job. He was thankful Akutsu-senpai had showed up to help so much; they probably couldn't have done it so well between just Ryoga and himself. "They light up, too desu. There are little lamps on the stars that you can light up."

Mina gave him a teary little giggle. "I bet it's nice," she said. "…Can I have your desk?"

"You'll have to ask Mum," he said, poking her nose gently. "Anything I leave here, you can ask her if you can have it desu." After all, he wasn't going to come back to reclaim those things. He was going to pack up everything he was taking, and then Ryoga would come along with a rented car to take everything… home. "My chair, too desu. I know you like spinning around in it when you think I can't catch you."

Mina giggled again. She wasn't looking quite as heartbroken anymore. Good. Taichi really didn't want her to be so sad over this. "…Tomi misses you desu," she then said.

"I know." He nodded. "I miss him, too." He indeed did. When you slept and bathed and took walks with someone every day for years, you did notice their absence, even if they were only a dog. Not that there was anything "only" about Tomi. He was the best dog there was, period.

"Are you going to take him, too?"

Taichi hesitated. He did want to, but… "I don't know if I should desu," he said. "I should ask Mum. And Ryoga, too."

"You should take him desu," Mina said firmly. "He's your dog. And he's really sad when you're away." She nodded as though trying to assure him further of the fact. "…Is Ryoga your brother now?"

"Yes, he is," Taichi said, nodding. "He's older than me. Old enough to drive a car." He supposed that told her more than any number would have.

"So you're a little brother, now?" As he nodded again, she smiled a bit. "…Does he ever tickle you?"

"Not yet, at least," Taichi replied. "But he does mess with my hair a lot." And then, because that was obviously an invitation, he attacked her with tickles.

Mina laughed and shouted and giggled, squirming against his merciless attack. As he finally did stop, she lay on the floor, still giggling and panting. "…I'll miss you, Tai-nii," she said wistfully as she finally got her breath back under control.

"I know, Mina." He gave her a faint smile. "I'll miss you, too."

"But I get to visit you desu," she said, as though confirming his assurances by repeating them. "And you won't live far."

"That’s right," he agreed. Certainly Takehiko couldn’t deny that. "And I'll call you, too desu."

"…You won't forget me, will you?" Mina bit her lip, looking at him seriously. Her eyes were really huge and pleading. Whenever she used this expression, Dan imagined he had some inkling of why his friends always accused him of cheating whenever he gave them pleading looks.

"Of course not, Mina." He drew her up from the floor for another hug. "I told you I'll always be your brother, right?"

"…Right desu." She sniffled but smiled. "…Do you have a lot to pack?"

"Well… kinda." He made a face. "I'd better get to it. Want to help?"

"Sure!" With a bright smile, she started to gather up things as he instructed her, chattering cheerfully as she did so.

Some time later, with Mina finally returned to her own games and most of his things packed up, Taichi stretched himself, sighing a bit. His old room really looked quite empty, with all his belongings stripped away. He'd taken the few posters off the walls, the bookshelf and the desk were empty, all the various odds and ends were packed up and ready to go. Of course, the most important things were already over at the house – his laptop, his school things and tennis stuff, and his most recent data – but the rest of his life was neatly put away in these boxes.

Looking at it all, Taichi felt rather empty, himself.

A hesitant knock from the door drew his gaze away from the boxes. Seeing his mother, he smiled faintly. "Mum," he said. "I'm almost done here."

"Good." She gave him a similar smile. "I would have helped, but…" Her voice trailed off.

"It's all right, Mum," he assured her. He didn't blame her for not coming up to help; it certainly couldn't be easy for him, either. "I… it's not your fault. Really, it isn't." He drew a deep breath, standing up. "You couldn't have known desu."

"I should have," she protested. "This is all my fault, Taichi. If I hadn't done what I did…"

"If you hadn't done what you did," Taichi pointed out, "I would have never been born. So, please don't apologize desu." He stepped towards her. "Mina was here earlier. She… said she's been scared. Of the two of you arguing desu."

His mother sighed. "Figures," she murmured. "I… I've been trying to keep her out of it, but… it's not working. It's not like I can keep her from noticing… this."

"What are you going to do, anyway?" Taichi asked, swallowing. "I mean, you and… him?" He couldn't really call him Dad, anymore, now could he.

"We're… well." She sighed, hugging herself. "We'll… try and patch things up. For Mina's sake. We agreed she has no part in this… it wouldn't be right to deprive her of a parent." She shook her head with a rueful smile. "…Though it did take some convincing to make him believe that she is his."

"Is she?" Taichi asked quietly. He'd really rather not have his sister go through the same thing later on.

"Yes, she is." She looked him directly in the eye. "I suppose I can't blame you for doubting, any more than I can blame Takehiko for doing the same, but that one time was the only time I cheated on him." She sighed again. "…It's not right that you have to pay for it."

"I already told you, Mum," he said, "if you hadn't had that affair, I wouldn't be here now desu. Besides, it's not like I have nowhere to go, right?" He gave her his best attempt at a smile. It wasn't very bright right now. "Ano… Mina mentioned that Tomi's been missing me."

"Oh, yes. He's been moping around like he lost his shadow," she said. "Ah… you can take him along if you'd like. I mean, he is your dog, after all. It wouldn't really be right to separate the two of you."

"I'd really like to," Taichi agreed eagerly. "…I mean, I'll still have to check with Ryoga, of course."

"I… do you get along with him?" she asked hesitantly. "Ryoga-kun, I mean?"

"Yes, I do. He's been really very nice to me," Taichi replied, chuckling faintly. "Doubtlessly we'll find reasons to argue sooner or later, but for now, everything's been fine. I'm sure we can manage living together desu."

"I'm glad to hear that." She paused. "Ryoga-kun… he mentioned something about having been in a similar situation, himself."

"Ah, yes." Taichi bent down to close one of the boxes that had still been left open when she'd arrived. "He's… well desu. To present knowledge, Echizen Nanjirou has three sons. None of… us… has the same mother," he explained. It still felt rather weird, counting himself as one of Nanjirou's sons. "He fathered Ryoga before he even got married, and then had Ryoma-kun with his wife desu." He glanced at her. "Ryoma-kun's almost exactly my age. We're only a week apart."

"I see." She exhaled audibly. "And his wife is… all right with Ryoga?"

"That's what Ryoga told me, yes desu." Taichi nodded in confirmation, doing his best to smile reassuringly. "He said she's never treated him any differently from Ryoma-kun, even though he wasn't added to the family until later… and it's not like I'll be living with her, anyway," he pointed out. "They're living overseas now; Ryoga and I will both be staying here in Japan to study desu."

"Well, that's a relief." She managed a small smile in response to his. "I… wouldn't want anyone else to hate you for this. I mean, she's got every right to dislike me… but again, you're not responsible for our actions."

"Mum… it'll be all right. Really." He closed another box. "I won't be living that far, anyway; you and Mina can come and visit desu. I've got Ryoga and Nanako-chan, and Akutsu-senpai and all my other senpai and my friends, too. I promise you I'll be fine desu." Fishing a fallen notebook from under the bed, he added, "It wouldn't do the team much good if the captain turned into a total emotional wreck or something."

"Right… the tennis team." She paused. "He… played tennis, too."

"My… father? Yes, he did." Taichi nodded. "He was a professional player. A good one, too. He was one tournament away from being officially number one in the world when he retired desu."

"I… suppose you've got it from him," she said quietly. "Tennis. You've always been interested in it, long before you started playing." She ruffled his hair, no wonder it was always a mess when everyone kept ruffling it, and added, "I'm sure you'll follow right in his footsteps."

"I'm certainly going to try my best." He looked up at her and grinned even as he straightened himself again. "I'll make you proud yet, Mum desu."

Suddenly he found himself drawn into a hug, tight and close and warm. "I've always been proud of you, Taichi," she murmured, and he could hear the tears in her voice. "And I always will be."

At a complete loss of words, he simply hugged her back, trying his best not to cry.


	6. Annoyed

"This doesn’t look half bad, I suppose." Akutsu let his gaze wander around the little room. He could still smell the last traces of fresh paint despite the rather thorough airing they had been doing. Aside from the notebooks, which Taichi had yet to finish organizing into his new bookshelf, everything was now more or less where it was supposed to be. All in all, it looked like a perfectly fine room for a guy. sure, some might have said the ceiling with the stars was just a bit childish, but then Taichi was still a bit of a kid, and at least it was as well done as they had managed in such a short time.

"I think it’s pretty good," Taichi said, giving him a small smile from where he was trying to put on the curtains. Trying, and failing, by the looks of it. There was only so far a little boy could reach, and right now Taichi was on his tiptoes, which didn’t seem to be enough. "If only I could get these up..."

"Oh, damn it." Rolling his eyes, Akutsu stood up from where he’d been sitting, brushing Taichi out of the way. "At least stand on a chair or something..." These things weren’t supposed to be that hard, right? Just get these little nips to grip on the fabric... damn, but they were small.

"Ano, Akutsu-senpai, I can do that," Taichi said hurriedly as though aghast at having him do something like that. "Really, I can. You shouldn’t –"

"Shut up, Taichi." If he decided to do something, he was damn well going to do it, and a little kid wasn’t going to stop him. Even if those damn things were rather small and slippery.

He couldn’t even tell if Taichi was more horrified or amused at his various curses, but the kid did stay more or less quiet. Finally, though, Akutsu managed to get the curtains up; they weren’t even crooked. Not badly, anyway. "Are you now about done, aside from those mountains?" He nodded towards the piles of notebooks and magazines. How one boy could read – or write – so much was quite beyond him.

"Ah, yes desu." Taichi glanced at the books. "I probably should get those on the shelves right away..."

Akutsu rolled his eyes. "Taichi, all you’ve been doing yesterday and this morning is putting things away," he grumbled. "Really, the ceiling won’t cave in if you don’t spend every moment hurrying to get it done. Besides, if you now start organizing those, you’ll still be at it come the fucking night. I know how you get with stuff like that."

"I... guess." Taichi bit his lip. "But... then what..."

"Sit down for a change." Akutsu himself all but collapsed on Taichi’s new bed. He had to admit it was pretty comfortable. "You seem almost hysteric at times. You’ll even drive your dog crazy with that." He glanced at the dog in question. It was one beast of a pet, probably bigger than the kid himself, though right now it resembled mostly just a big, lumpy rug, taking up a rather large patch of the floor of the room. It apparently couldn’t care less if Taichi was spending time with Akutsu, barely raising an ear every now and then, which was just as well. Akutsu wasn’t about to start fighting for attention with something hairier than himself.

"Ah... maybe desu." Taichi sat down on the edge of the bed. Akutsu barely even noticed the added weight on the mattress. "It’s just... it feels so weird, having pretty much everything all packed up like this," he murmured, not looking anywhere near Akutsu. "Maybe if I get it all where it belongs... maybe it’ll feel less weird desu..."

"Taichi." Akutsu let his hand fall somewhat carelessly over Taichi’s on the bedcover. "Of course it’s weird. Your whole damn life has been pretty much turned upside down. I can see why you’d think running around like a headless chicken would distract you from the fact. But you know what?" He shook his head. "It just doesn’t fucking work like that. Really, it doesn’t. The best you can hope for is giving it time."

"But... it’s not right," Taichi mumbled, little shoulders slumping. "Things shouldn’t go like this desu... I mean, I do like Ryoga, I don’t mind living with him, and at least I have Tomi now... but..." His voice trailed off and didn’t pick up again. For a moment, they were both silent.

Akutsu looked up at the ceiling. At some point, they’d have to look for a more permanent arrangement for the lights. Right now, it was little more than some Christmas lights taped on the ceiling; sure, they lit up and provided enough light for the room, but it was hardly the best job they could have done. It shouldn’t be too much of a job to do properly, given enough time...

He was somewhat startled to realize the little sniffling sound didn’t come from the dog. Pushing himself up on one elbow, he looked at the kid. "...Taichi?" he asked, he wasn’t concerned of course he wasn’t, he was just... curious. "Taichi... everything all right?"

Taichi didn’t respond, simply nodding. However, Akutsu was fairly sure he heard another sniffle. Okay, that was just unfair. The kid knew perfectly well he didn’t like dealing with sniffling. Moving his hand from atop Taichi’s up to his shoulder, he tugged, rather more gently than was customary of him. Taichi didn’t resist much, falling down on the bed next to him.

"...You’re crying." It wasn’t a question at this point, more of an observation. Taichi didn’t even try to deny it, which would have been a rather futile exercise anyway with the tears falling from his eyes. Instead, he just turned his face away.

"I’m sorry desu," he murmured, sounding slightly ashamed. "Just... just give me a moment..."

"The fuck, Taichi." Leaning over the kid, Akutsu cupped Taichi’s face with one hand, turning it back towards him. "Look, kid... you’re allowed to be upset, you know." It most certainly wasn’t something he was used to say, or even something he would have said to anyone else. However, Taichi was still a kid, and a cry baby besides. Sure, he had grown up since his little spectacle when Akutsu had left tennis behind, but he hadn’t grown up that much. Frankly, Akutsu would have been worried if all of this hadn’t gotten him to cry, except Akutsu was never worried so not really.

"I’m trying not to," Taichi murmured, the little idiot. "I don’t want to be some little kid... I don’t want to be just a burden on Ryoga desu."

"He’s not that much older than you, you know," Akutsu murmured, not really even noticing as he wiped away some of the tears. "This is as much of a new situation to him as it is to you. Neither of you know what the fuck you’re supposed to do, but it’s neither of your fault, and I’m damn well sure he won’t tell you to stop being upset because it might be easier for him to handle." He gave Taichi a small smirk. "If he did tell you that, I’d have to set him straight."

"Akutsu-senpai!" Taichi protested, sounding somewhat scandalized. "You really shouldn’t say things like that desu!"

"I’ll say anything I want." And, just to show this claim extended to the other potential uses of his mouth, too, he closed the gap between them to kiss Taichi. The kid’s lips tasted slightly salty. Well, fancy that.

When he pulled away, Taichi didn’t seem to be actively crying anymore, a small flush on his face. "Akutsu-senpai," he murmured, blinking as some more tears got into his eyes. "I – I’m sorry desu –"

"Say that you’re sorry one more time, and I really have to make you shut up." Akutsu wiped a strand of messy hair from Taichi’s face where it had gotten stuck on the tear-soaked skin. Honestly, when was the last time the kid had had a haircut? And how fast did his hair grow, anyway? It almost fell neatly to frame his face, now. It’d been just messy bangs when he’d first met the boy, along with some longer bangs at the sides. Strangely, this made him look a bit less girly. He could have thought otherwise.

"...I won’t say it, then desu." Now Taichi actually managed to give him a wavering smile, reaching up to wipe away some of the tears, himself. "I... what should I do, Akutsu-senpai?"

"Well, first of all, you’re going to fucking calm down," Akutsu said. That should be easy enough to do... he hoped. Well, given enough time, it should. "When you’re sure you aren’t going to start weeping again anytime soon, you’re going to kick that mutt of yours off the floor and find its leash, if you really think you can do anything if it really decides to go somewhere. Then we’ll go out to get you away from these paint fumes and take a good, long walk just so you can get your thoughts in order." Even if for Taichi, getting his thoughts in order often seemed to involve a lot of talking about things that may or may not have been connected to the actual issue at hand. That was all right. Akutsu could handle Taichi’s talking. It was in fact infinitely easier to handle than Taichi’s crying.

"But... I promised Ryoga I’d be here for lunch."

"So it’ll be a bit late lunch, big deal. We’ll just tell him before we go if you’re that damn concerned." Cute though the fussing might have been, getting Taichi’s head straight was infinitely more important than the two playing house some more. "...I’ll even buy you a damn ice cream if that’ll make it easier to decide." Anything to put an end to the waterworks. It was just... unsettling. Akutsu didn’t do well with crying people. Sometimes he could have sworn both his mother and Taichi not only knew that but also used it shamelessly to their advantage.

Now Taichi actually managed a small smile. Ha. For someone priding himself at his damned data, the kid sure was easy to predict sometimes. "Well... if you insist desu."

"I damn well do." Pushing himself up from the bed, Akutsu reached a hand out for Taichi to take. After a moment of hesitation, he indeed felt a light hold on his hand, tightening slightly as Taichi drew himself up as well.

Okay. First step in getting Taichi back on track... taken.

*

Going on a walk with Taichi was, Akutsu sometimes thought, much like following one of those stupid cleaning robots vacuuming the floor in those commercials. He seemed to take apparently random turns, going here and there and everywhere, walking down this route or that apparently perfectly on whim. Nevertheless, he never seemed disoriented or at a loss to his location, and no matter what he always made it back to his home, just like the robots always found their charging stations. If there was a pattern to this behaviour, Akutsu had long since given up trying to find it; he supposed it did offer decent exercise, even if the usefulness of such walks was otherwise rather damn debatable.

Therefore he was somewhat surprised to find that Taichi seemed to actually have a destination in mind this time, given the minimal amount of turns and circling in his route this time. He might have otherwise predicted the little place nearby with the ice cream Taichi had taken a liking to, but they hadn’t taken Tomi along this time, and Taichi apparently considered it damn near treason to get ice cream without saving the rest of it for his pet. How on Earth he could stand to share his ice cream with a dog, Akutsu couldn’t understand, but he supposed it was just another one of Taichi’s quirks.

Here they were, though, without a dog but apparently with a purpose, and he was getting just a bit suspicious. Taichi hadn’t said anything about wanting to go anywhere in particular; Akutsu had come along under the impression that this would be yet another of the random walks that had apparently become a daily habit in the almost a week since Taichi had officially moved to the Echizen house. As Taichi dodged yet another one of his questions not really very slyly, he was forced to conclude something was going on – most likely something he would not have agreed to had he been aware of it.

Despite his increasing suspicions, Akutsu did tag along, trying to think of the various things Taichi might have been scheming. Nevertheless, it wasn’t until they came around yet another corner and he saw the group waiting in front of a restaurant that he came to a total stop. "Oh, hell no."

"Oh, come on, Akutsu-senpai." Taichi took a hold of his hand, tugging. "It won’t be that bad."

"I already told you no the first time you asked me." He didn’t even want to know what they were thinking, Taichi or Sengoku. He wasn’t a part of the team anymore. He wanted nothing to do with the team, either. Why did he have to participate in something as stupid as this? They all knew perfectly well he was far from great company.

"Which is why I didn’t tell you where we were going desu." By now they had all noticed them, judging by their chatter and glances. Great, just great. And here was Taichi looking at him ever so pleadingly. That kind of a gaze should have been illegal; it probably qualified as a semi-lethal weapon.

"And you thought this would work any better why, exactly?" Akutsu raised his eyebrows, yanking his hand away from Taichi’s. Or, at least, trying to. His first attempt failed, though, as Taichi’s hold turned out to be rather firmer than he had thought it would. Since when had the kid actually had a proper grip? "...Let go, Taichi."

"What, is the big and scary senpai too weak to get himself away?" Taichi grinned up at him in a very annoying manner. If it had been anyone else, Akutsu would have smacked him just for that. However, he had long since come to the conclusion that, while the reasons for it remained something he’d really rather not explore too deeply though he had a suspicion they were connected to his liking the kid, he could not hit Taichi. He supposed it was just as well in his attempt at keeping up this little mockery of a relationship, but it sure got annoying in situations like this.

"Screw you." Akutsu tugged again, harder, and this time Taichi’s hold loosened enough for him to get his hand away. Ignoring the nagging suspicion the kid had let go on purpose, Akutsu glared down at him. "Give me one good reason why I should not just walk away." ...Not that he could give himself a good reason for why he was not doing so already.

"Because I’m asking you to come along desu." Taichi looked up at him with still that same grin. "...And because I’ve got two tickets for movies later, and if you’re not there when it’s time for me to go, I’ll ask one of the other senpai to go with me."

"What am I now, a girl?" He wasn’t the one who was supposed to be taken to movies, damn it. Of course, he was fairly sure Taichi wasn’t a girl, either, but it was the principle of the thing. On the other hand, though, none of the other idiots were girls, either... but Akutsu could name a few he wouldn’t exactly trust alone with Taichi, especially in a dark movie theatre. "...Are you trying to make me jealous?"

"Oh, no. I just pointed out I’d hate to see the other ticket go to waste." Taichi tilted his head innocently to the side. "Come on. ...I’ll give you a kiss for every five minutes we spend with them desu."

"And what’s stopping me from getting all those kisses from you anyway?" Though he had to admit, that was probably the best reason he’d heard of yet to participate in something absolutely idiotic like this.

"The fact that I’m currently going to go eat pizza with my senpai, and then to a movie with whoever wants to come along. And if you’re not there... well, you won’t be the one getting the kisses desu."

"Like you would kiss anyone else." He did know that much about Taichi at least. Whatever the kid might have been, he wasn’t a cheater. Now, a tease, on the other hand...

"Maybe you’d better come along and make sure, ne?" Again that damn look. "Akutsu-senpai..."

"...Jin." Wait, what. He was going to disown his mouth for blurting that out.

Taichi blinked in surprise. "Eh?"

"I’ve known you for a year and a half now, Taichi," he grumbled, not about to admit that comment had been a sudden whim more than anything. "You should know my name by now." It did sound somewhat disconcerting to hear the kid calling him by his family name regardless of the situation. If even Kawamura sometimes used his first name, he was damn well not going to listen to his family name from someone he was... in a relationship with. Whatever that amounted to.

"I do know it." Again that damn grin. "But if you don’t care about me enough to come along..." Gods, was the kid actually pouting now? That was just... not right.

"Just... stop that." Oh, what the hell. He supposed he could live with it if forced to. Granted, he was not going to like it, and would probably make the others miserable as well, but then they had been the ones to demand it of him. They should have known better, really.

He could have sworn the group started murmuring even more as they saw them both starting to look closer. Honestly, for all that they supposedly were all male, the idiots certainly could gossip worse than some of the worst chicks he knew. Sticking his hands into his pockets to keep himself from punching someone – Taichi hardly would have appreciated that – he scowled at everyone as they got closer, not wanting to leave anyone in the mistaken idea that he was here voluntarily.

"And Dan-kun does it again!" Sengoku all but cheered, applauding as they got closer. The idiot. "I really thought Akuchu would run and desert us all~"

"Oh, not at all." Taichi gave the stupid redhead an almost impish grin. "He was most eager to come along. Weren’t you? Jin-senpai~"

Despite everything, Akutsu was almost startled to hear Taichi actually using the name. He was certainly not as startled as the others, though, judging by the number of wide eyes and dumbfounded expressions around them. It was just as well, really. It wasn’t any of their business what Taichi called him.

"You know damn well why I’m here," he murmured, not looking anywhere near Sengoku. Not when there was that idiotic grin waiting to face him. "And it’s damn well not for the delightful company." He threw another glare at the group in general. "What’s the point of this, anyway? Don’t you all have new teams by now?"

"That’s part of the point," Sengoku said as they finally started to go inside, Sengoku always was the one to speak even when both the former captain and vice-captain were there wasn’t he. "We have our new teams – and we train with them just about every day. However, we don’t always get the chance to get together with the old team like this, especially when you’ve abandoned us all."

"Oh, shut up." Akutsu kept an eye on Taichi, careful not to let it get too obvious. The last thing he wanted was those idiots getting any stupid ideas about the two of them. "It was either me leaving or one of you ending up in a grave sooner or later. Figured this option was less of a hassle."

Sengoku continued harassing him for a while. However, by the time they were all seated and waiting for their orders, Minami surprised Akutsu by actually speaking. "You were a good addition to the team, though," he murmured, not looking anywhere near Akutsu as though embarrassed to admit something like that. "A bit violent but... a good addition."

"Che." Akutsu rolled his eyes. "Tell you what – I’ll join your stupid team the day you have an Echizen there, and not a day sooner." Taichi, Sengoku, and Muromachi gave him sharp glances, while the rest seemed to all be in various states of either disappointment and relief. It was just as well, really. He wasn’t about to go broadcasting Taichi’s secrets around. Let them be clueless. It kind of figured Sengoku and Muromachi would be up to date, though; the lucky bastard had always had a soft spot for Taichi, and, well, Muromachi was his vice-captain. It just wouldn’t have been like Taichi not to offer any kind of an explanation to the strange events lately.

He was a bit surprised, though, as Taichi himself decided to approach the subject. Of course, it wasn’t all that impossible to predict, given how he seemed to be increasingly uneasy over the course of the conversation, especially whenever someone addressed to him. Finally, at yet another "Dan-kun", he said with a forcibly casual tone, "You know, you’ll soon have to find a new name desu."

This certainly silenced everyone for a moment. Finally, Minami was the one to break the silence, enquiring somewhat carefully, "And why would that be, ah... Dan-kun?"

"Well, as it turns out," a fake little smile playing on Taichi’s lips, oh how Akutsu hated how fake it looked, "I’m not exactly Dan, really desu."

"What do you mean by that?" Kita blinked. Obviously Muromachi had been the only one in the current middle school team Taichi actually had chosen to inform.

"Ah... I mean that Dan Takehiko isn’t my father." He was still smiling, of course he was smiling, but Akutsu could tell it was only barely. He glared at everyone, silently warning them not to say a single wrong word, but at least for now nobody seemed too intent on making fun of poor Taichi. "The process has just barely started, but if everything goes by planned, I should legally have a new name by Christmas desu."

"So... what is your real name, then?" Minami enquired carefully. He looked a bit concerned, not that Akutsu could blame him. It was all too obvious that Taichi’s smile was forced.

"Well, let’s just say," Taichi took a sip of his coke before he continuing, "when I enter high school... Jin-senpai will have to join the team, as he promised earlier."

For a moment, there was silence. Then it seemed as though everyone started talking at once. There were a thousand questions, how and why and who and what, and comments on how it would be great to have Akutsu on the team again though hopefully he’d be less of a problem this time around, and did this have anything to do with Echizen Ryoma because everything always came down to the bloody Echizen Ryoma. Taichi somehow managed not to look overwhelmed, Akutsu supposed it came from his experience as a manager and a captain; both would have to deal with endless inane questions, after all.

Akutsu rolled his eyes at yet another comment of his practically having promised to join. The idiots. If everything went like it was supposed to, in two years' time Taichi would be the main prize and he would be just a small bonus on the side. He was most certainly not counting on just getting away with it, though. Taichi would remember, if nobody else did. Of course, he had already known that when he had said it.

He still had no particular interest in tennis above any other sport, but he did enjoy a challenge. And he was certain that year would bring plenty of challenges.

Besides, for all that he was still just a scrawny kid, Taichi could certainly look hot on occasion when he was playing.

He didn't pay much attention to the rest of the conversation, eating his pizza and some of Taichi's too, honestly it wasn't a wonder the kid was still so small when he didn't even eat properly. He did, however, notice the various glances and whispers and murmurs, especially when his hand might have lingered a bit too long in touch with Taichi's as the result of a random brush of fingers. This annoyed him, as glances and whispers often did, especially when they had to do with him. For all that he didn't want any particular trouble for Taichi because that would be just bothersome, he also quite preferred it when people said straight what they meant. Circling around the issue was just cowardly, especially when it was so obvious as that. Taichi either didn't notice or chose to ignore the idiots, though; but then, all data players were more or less twisted. Taichi was the type to never lie yet he still found ways to twist the truth, like just now he had just happened to forget to mention that they were going to spend time with the rest of the team. A little public secret was probably nothing new to him.

Akutsu, however, did not appreciate it. For one thing, he'd come to notice that rumours could often cause more damage than the truth; for another, he refused to be ashamed of the fact he found the kid… well, he supposed "attractive" was the right word here. Oh, he was well aware of just how much trouble it might cause not only for himself but Taichi, too, if the word got out, but that didn't mean he had to like having to keep the whole thing hushed up. Taichi was his, damn it, that much was clear, and if he didn't look after his claim someone might actually be idiotic enough to think they might have a chance.

And Taichi being with someone else… well. That was simply not an option.

In the end, it was Sengoku, it was always Sengoku wasn't it, always Sengoku who finally managed to push him that last half an inch over the edge. He couldn’t recall the redhead's words later, some presumably sly remarks about Taichi's cute little blush and don't you think so too Akuchu, but whatever it was, it got the others whispering again. Taichi looked a bit uncomfortable with it all, he was trying not to show it of course, being the bloody proper and polite kid he was, but Akutsu knew him too well to miss the way he seemed to sink back in his chair just a little.

Akutsu set his hand on Taichi's shoulder. The kid turned to look at him, blinking in surprise. Obviously he hadn't expected Akutsu to touch him like that.

Judging by the slight widening of his eyes, he also hadn't expected Akutsu to kiss him, but he certainly didn't seem to be complaining.

Once again they got the shocked silence followed by a burst of noise. Taichi was blushing as Akutsu drew away, but Akutsu figured he wasn't too badly embarrassed as he still allowed Akutsu to draw himself just that little bit closer. It wasn't entirely clear who were more numerous, the ones who claimed to have foreseen it for ages or the ones who could not believe it, but in any case they all seemed to be set on getting their opinion known at once. At least none of them seemed to be too disapproving, not that Akutsu would have cared either way but he knew how important their opinions were to Taichi.

When they finally managed to leave, Akutsu lit up just out of pure relief to be out, ignoring the more or less enthusiastic goodbyes exchanged by the others, as though they didn't see each other far too much anyway. Taichi gave him a disapproving glare but he didn't care. Reducing his fights so Taichi wouldn't be targeted was one thing, turning into a bloody saint another. The first he was willing to do, but not the second. "If I never have to deal with that lot again, it'll still be too soon," he murmured darkly.

"Well, you did basically promise to join the club when I get to high school," Taichi said, an annoyingly bright smile on his face. Apparently the notion of Akutsu playing tennis was enough to even overcome his disgust at the cigarette.

"And you promised me kisses for coming with you to meet those idiots." Not like Taichi ever forgot his promises, he was a good little fucking saint like that, but he supposed it was worth a mention lest Taichi actually forget he hadn't been a willing participant in this idiocy. Even if the looks on their faces when he kissed Taichi had almost been worth the entire annoyance.

"Not after you've been smoking desu." Gods, was that a pout?

"Taichi, we've damn well been through this before." Several times. Over and over again. How the kid still had the energy to nag was quite beyond him, considering he wasn't about to budge, but that certainly didn't seem to stop Taichi from trying his very best. He was much like Akutsu's hag of a mother in that regard. "I'm not going to stop smoking just because you say so."

"I didn't say you couldn't smoke," said Taichi, a blatant lie if Akutsu had ever heard one, the kid was always telling him not to smoke. Before he could protest at this obvious untruth, however, Taichi continued, "I just said I'm not about to kiss you right after you've been smoking desu." He made a face. "It tastes terrible."

Akutsu paused, then started to laugh. "You know, Taichi," he said, blowing a little cloud of smoke well over the kid's head, "sometimes, you're just too damn adorable." He then pressed a quick little kiss on Taichi's hair, the kid couldn't complain because it wasn't like his hair could taste anything could it.

Taichi blinked but then smiled. "I do try my best desu~" It was the kind of a cheerful smile that Taichi did best of all and that never ceased to baffle Akutsu. If he'd had to deal with the shit Taichi had been through recently, he wouldn't have been smiling, but then again he'd never been too big on smiling anyway, and in any case he could have never looked even half as cute as Taichi did just now.

Nevertheless, he found himself almost smiling in return, and if Sengoku was spying around the corner then let him because Akutsu was through with caring what that lucky little fucker thought anyway.


	7. Cheerful

"Oi, that's just unfair!" Taichi's voice echoed far out of the living room, accompanied by the faint sounds of whatever video game they were currently playing. "That's not supposed to be a valid strategy desu!"

"Seems damn well valid enough for me if it works every bloody time." Akutsu sounded almost amused at his little boyfriend's complaints.

"That's not a strategy at all," Taichi complained, too focused on whatever was happening at the screen to even notice as Ryoga walked to the doorway, rather amused at the argument. "That's just being mean."

"It's called kicking your damn ass," Akutsu chuckled. He was currently sitting on a couch, Taichi seated between his legs on the floor. Both seemed rather comfortable with this arrangement, Taichi's head leaning ever so lightly on Akutsu's knee. "Look it up some time, smartass."

"It's all unfair, anyway," declared the smaller boy. "You've had much more time to practice with this than I have desu! You have an unfair advantage desu!"

"The game's not been out that long, idiot," Akutsu countered, apparently rather effortlessly continuing to annoy Taichi inside the game. "I've never played it anywhere else. If anything, you've got more practice than I do."

"But you've played other racing games before desu," Taichi accused. "I'm not into them that much, so obviously you have an advantage here."

"Oh, please. You're just annoyed because I'm better than you." Apparently their race was at an end or Akutsu was just that confident, as he reached a hand to ruffle Taichi's hair. The boy didn't protest too badly at least.

"My, my. A lovers' spat in my very living room? What has the word come to?" Ryoga chuckled as Taichi turned to look at him with a little flush on his face. "Don't get so mad, Taichi. We both know Akutsu beats me, too." He smirked and added, "And I beat you. Just as an older brother should."

"Oh, really?" Taichi stood up, dropping the controller on the floor. "Then let's see you get beaten for a chance desu. I'm going to get something to drink." He glanced at Akutsu. "You want anything?"

"Whatever's fine." Akutsu glanced at Ryoga. "You going to play?"

"…Fine, one race." He glanced at Taichi even as he walked to the couch, picking up the controller Taichi had left. "Could you manage something for me, too?"

"Orange Ponta, ne~" Taichi smiled a bit before hurrying off towards the kitchen. Akutsu looked after him, rather intently so. Ryoga didn't miss this even as he sat on the couch next to Akutsu.

Ryoga still waited until Taichi was out of earshot and they had started a new race before speaking. "So, does he really have that nice an ass?"

Akutsu didn't bother to even glare at him, eyes locked on the screen. "What the hell?"

"Taichi. Don't you think I didn't notice you looking after him. It was pretty obvious just what you were watching, too." Ryoga's lips twitched. "Come on, it's not that long since I was your age. We both know you're not just dating him for the sake of holding hands and taking romantic walks in the moonlight forever and ever."

"What the fuck is it to you, anyway?" Akutsu's car dropped a mine before accelerating well ahead of him. Ryoga avoided the trap at the last second, picking up the pace, himself.

"Well, he is my little brother. And however old and wise he may think he is, he's still just thirteen. Barely legal even in Japan. I don't exactly want him to get hurt just because an older boyfriend pressures him into something he's not ready yet." 

"…You should know by now there's no way anyone, even me, is going to pressure Taichi into something he doesn't want," Akutsu replied dryly. "The kid's just too damn stubborn like that, and fucking good for him."

"He values you over most other things, though," Ryoga murmured. "If anyone could do it, it's you."

"Look, I've known him far longer than you have, all right?" Akutsu finally just let the game be, turning to look at him. "Hell, I've known him longer than that other midget of a brother of yours has. If anyone should be getting on a damn protective rampage here, it's me, not you. I'm not the one who's torn him away from everything he's ever known just because some old perv couldn't keep it in his damn pants."

"That damn perv wasn't me, though," Ryoga pointed out quietly. Even if Akutsu did have kind of a point with the having known Taichi longer thing. "And if he hadn't slept around, neither I nor Taichi would exist."

"Maybe. Doesn't mean I'm going to start being grateful to your jerk ass father." Akutsu's glares were certainly intimidating, coming from a high school kid. Too bad Ryoga had seen bad enough things not to start wavering at that alone.

"Look, this is new to us all, all right? It's not like I asked to be suddenly responsible for a middle school kid. Hell, I'm about to restart high school, myself. I'm looking after a kid I didn't even know about a year ago, and I'm only going to be one year above him in school. I don't even know how to be a proper brother, but I'm damn well going to try my best. And isn't the whole thing with his supposed father kicking him out of the house just proof perfect that knowing someone for a long time doesn't mean they're not going to hurt you?"

"…You think I'm going to hurt Taichi?" Akutsu's voice sounded almost… incredulous. However, before Ryoga could even think of responding to what was most probably a rhetoric question anyway, Akutsu had already reached a hand towards him, grasping on the front of his shirt to draw him close. "Ask that good-for-nothing brother of yours about me," he said with a low tone. "Ask him what I did to him. What I did to his bloody little friends. And when you're done doing that… ask Taichi how many times I've hurt him."

"You know, it's really not very reassuring that you're using examples of your abuse towards other people as proof you wouldn't do it to him. Especially when said other people includes my other little brother." Not very reassuring indeed, to say the least.

"The kid can get fucking annoying when he wants to. If I was about to hurt him, I'd have snapped his neck a long while ago."

That was still anything but reassuring, but just then a loud noise from the game demanded their attention, marking the fact that both of their cars had apparently managed to end up off road in lack of actual driving. When Taichi returned a moment later, they were busy squabbling over which one of them had been responsible for crash and what it meant in terms of winning, and was it unfair or not that Akutsu got such a lead in returning to the track just because his car went off on a more fortunate spot.

"Nice to see I'm not the only one tempted to commit homicide over that stupid game," Taichi commented with a little, amused curl of his lips, setting down two cans of soda on the table in front of the couch and opening the last one for himself. "Though I'm going to have to suggest that we play something else next desu."

"You got any others with multiplayer mode, then?" Akutsu asked, reaching for the can that was not orange-flavoured. Good boy, he was already learning. "Cute though it is to see you focus in that shooting game, it gets pretty boring after a moment, and the others are even worse."

"Actually, I bought this new game just recently," Ryoga cut in, taking his own drink and opening it, enjoying the sound of quiet fizz as his nose caught the scent of orange. "Even I haven't tried it yet, so at least Taichi can't complain we have any kind of an unfair advantage in it. It's got support for up to four people, so we can all have a go at it at the same time."

"What kind of a game?" Akutsu asked, glancing lazily at Ryoga as though interested even as his gaze immediately strayed back to Taichi's face. The guy was just too obvious. "Not going to play some stupid annoying hug all your friends together co-op."

"Oh, don't worry, I wouldn't try to de-ball us all like that." Ryoga smirked. He had a feeling he wouldn't hear protests over this one. "It's actually a fighting game. A way to take out those racing-induced frustrations of yours complete with silly appearances and anime-style special techniques."

Taichi returned the smirk in an almost blood-thirsty manner. "Bring it on desu."

Ryoga might have been tempted to poke fun at Akutsu later for staring so blatantly at Taichi's behind as the kid crouched to change the game in the console, but he was soon rather effectively distracted from any teasing by the fact that, for once, Taichi was not the one losing. In fact, he seemed to be winning. Over and over again. It was probably because he lucked out and got the lucky controller, everyone knew that the one with the lucky controller had the best chances of winning, except that they switched around when Ryoga brought up this obvious conclusion and Taichi still kept kicking them around.

"That's just fucking cheating!" Akutsu tried protest at a particularly devastating manoeuvre, only for Taichi to cackle in an almost sadistic manner.

"Shut up and take it like a man, Jin-senpai~"

You never knew how terrifying a little brother could be until he cracked your character's neck just for the sheer pleasure of being able to do so.

*

Ryoga was rather proud of his timing. He hadn't remembered exactly how long it took to walk to Yamabuki Middle School, yet his rough guess brought him to the school's gates just as the students started to leave. Leaning against one side of the gate, he scanned the crowd lazily with his eyes. He gained a few glances, even giggles from some of the girls, but generally he was more or less ignored.

After a while he started to wonder whether he had remembered wrong and the tennis club did have a practice after all, even though he had checked that Taichi had left his tennis equipment home. Just as he was reaching for his cell phone to call Taichi and double-check, though, he spotted the familiar head of blue hair within the crowd. Taichi was talking with one of his friends, not having noticed Ryoga yet.

"Oi, Chibichibi!" Well, that certainly got Taichi's attention. He turned to look as Ryoga walked closer, easily making his way through the middle school kids.

"Ah, aniki," Taichi replied, looking a bit surprised to see him. "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to steal you away, if you don't mind." He grinned. "I've pretty much decided which high school I'm going to aim for, but I thought to check out their tennis practice first. Thought you might like to come along."

He could have sworn the kid's eyes literally lit up at the idea. "Oh, I'd love that desu!" The speed at which he bade goodbye to his friend might have almost been perceived as rude, had it not been for the fact the friend seemed just as amused at his enthusiasm as Ryoga was. Then, one probably couldn't deal with a dataist and not get used to it. At least Taichi managed to keep his curiosity at bay until they were on the sidewalk, but then he finally burst. "So, where are you going to go? You haven't been talking much about your choices desu…"

"Well, I figured I didn't want to go to the same school as you or Chibisuke," Ryoga said, quite enjoying keeping his brother in suspense for another little moment. "I'll only be one year above you, after all, so we'd spend two years in the same school. It might get annoying over time, especially in the tennis club. We can compete outside school, I don't want to get beaten by my little brothers in tennis club as well."

"So it's neither Seigaku nor Yamabuki High," Taichi concluded. "So what other criteria were you using to arrive at your final conclusion?" He seemed to be half skipping, trying to keep up with Ryoga's long strides.

"Well, obviously there has to be a tennis club," Ryoga started. "I also figured a school with an active transfer program would be a good idea, so I won't be the only one around who's new to kanji and so on. It has to be close enough on foot or by bus to be plausible, but tuition is not that much of a consideration. So, after taking all this into consideration, I finally ranked the schools in order of the quality of their tennis clubs."

Taichi blinked and paused. Then, he started to laugh. "Well, if you have the same ranking data as what I can recall off the top of my head," he then said, grinning, "Ryoma-kun might be tempted to disown you desu."

"Oh?" Ryoga asked, feigning perfect innocence. "So what's your conclusion?"

"…Hyoutei High School." There was a cute little smirk on Taichi's face.

"Bingo." Ryoga smirked back at him. "Anything in particular you can tell me about them? I mean, obviously it wouldn't concern you directly yet, but is there anyone or anything you have data on? The new first years at least would have been in middle school along with you."

"Their captain is Atobe Keigo, nicknamed the King," Taichi told him immediately. "He's been captain practically continuously since his first year of middle school. He grew up in England, so at least you won't have language problems with him no matter what desu… I think he's one of Ryoma-kun's worst rivals. Of all Ryoma-kun's matches I've seen, the one against Atobe-san was by far the closest. The match against Yukimura-san was pretty much decided the moment Ryoma-kun opened the last door; with Atobe-san, it all came down to which one would stand up first desu."

"He's the one Chibisuke's talked about," Ryoga realized. "I mean, of course he's talked about others, too, but he talks about Atobe a lot. Watches videos, too. He's… Monkey King? I think."

"Indeed." Taichi chuckled. "Ryoma-kun will freak if he hears you're in Atobe-san's team desu. You'll be basically a traitor!"

"Then a traitor I shall be," laughed Ryoga. "Honestly, Chibisuke freaking makes it even better. Anything else?"

"Well… at least on the middle school level, Hyoutei is horribly competitive," Taichi said a bit hesitantly, as though nervous to offer up data that might not apply to Ryoga's situation after all. "I think last year was the first time in their current coach's run that someone was allowed to come back to the regulars after losing in singles, and I heard even that was only after he beat another regular and had Atobe-san plead his case desu. Of course, their high school coach would be different, but still –" Taichi went on to cite various bits of data, facts and observations and hearsay alike, about Atobe and other players and the team in general. For something that didn't directly affect him aside from some players who were currently in middle school but would be in high school the next year, he certainly had a lot to say. Then again, Ryoga had come to notice that Taichi was rarely left wanting for words.

After a bout of walking and a bus ride to save time, they finally found themselves at the gates of Hyoutei High. Ryoga wondered if he should have been worried to see how Taichi immediately found his way to the tennis courts, but it was certainly rather helpful. As they arrived, Ryoga was momentarily surprised. Sure, he had heard the numbers, just like everyone else, but it was still quite impressive to see the huge club in action all at once.

Despite the number of people, or perhaps precisely because of it, they didn't go unnoticed for long. A couple of people came towards them, apparently with a purpose in mind.

"Shishido-san and Oshitari-san," Dan murmured as they came close enough to be recognizable. "They were both regulars of the middle school team last year."

"Oi, you two," Shishido said as they came closer yet. "Do you have some business here? If not, get lost. We don't need any spying brats around." He glared at them both. Taichi seemed rather unaffected.

"Actually, yeah, we do." Ryoga grinned, just as oblivious to the glare as his little brother. "I believe I was in touch with your coach earlier. I'm planning to start Hyoutei High next year, and he said I could come by today to watch your practice for a bit."

"And the little one?" Oshitari peered down at Taichi. "…Come to think of it, I might have seen you before."

"That is certainly possible," Taichi agreed. "I did play against Hiyoshi-san during Kantou Tournament this year; if you were watching that, you would have seen me desu."

"Atobe's dragged us to watch a few times, yeah." Shishido paused. "Wait… aren't you Tamabuki's captain? There aren't that many midgets in the circuit."

Taichi practically beamed. Apparently being remembered was more important than the comment about the size. However, his joy was soon interrupted by Oshitari's next question. "So… what are you doing here, then? I know you're not about to skip schools; Wakashi-kun was so humiliated about being beaten by someone younger that I'm quite positive you're not starting high school yet."

"He's my little brother," Ryoga said before Taichi managed to get a word out, drawing the kid closer to himself. "He wanted to see for himself what kind of a house of horrors he was letting his dear aniki get into."

"Riiiight." Shishido raised his eyebrows. "Well, we'll see what Atobe says about that. Come on." Both he and Oshitari turned around, briefly beckoning them to follow. And, of course, they did, like the nice little boys they were, or something like that.

Ryoga was willing to claim he would have recognized Atobe for the captain even if he hadn't ever seen him on Ryoma's recordings before. There was simply this… aura about him that was impossible to ignore. Ryoga liked to think he wasn't too easy to impress – growing up around Echizen Nanjirou was enough to make anyone a bit jaded – but something about Atobe's very presence made him stand just a little straighter. Then, he supposed one would have to have a quite commanding presence to be able to hold onto any kind of control of a club numbering in hundreds.

"Oi, Atobe," Shishido said, making the captain's eyes turn towards them, a brief blue glance drifting over Ryoga. "This guy says the coach gave him the okay to look around."

"Ah, yes. I do recall a mention of someone coming by." Atobe took a proper look at Ryoga, now, only for his eyes to dip towards Taichi. "…Dan Taichi, of Yamabuki. Now that is not something I had been told to prepare for."

If Taichi had beamed before when Shishido had recognized him, now his eyes flew even wider than usual at the sheer shock of having Atobe do the same. He recovered fast, though, this time being the one to defend his presence, himself. "I'm his younger brother, actually," he said as a way of explanation, looking perfectly innocent and trustworthy and data what data what is this data you're talking about anyway. "Aniki asked me to come along because he's still a bit unfamiliar with the Japanese school system desu." At least that was as good an excuse as any that Ryoga himself could have come up with.

"Really, now." Atobe's eyes returned to Ryoga, whether to simply evaluate him or to look for signs of their relation, Ryoga was sure. However, he was absolutely sure the sharp gaze caught the obvious resemblance to someone else, judging by the minute shifts of expression. "And your name would be?" 

"…Echizen Ryoga." Well. That certainly caught the attention of everyone within earshot. Forcing himself to stay calm, Ryoga added, "And before anyone asks, yes, Taichi does have an older twin… with a name very similar to mine." Of course, technically, the two weren't twins, but it seemed like the best term that did not involve copious amounts of explanations.

"The brother of the great Echizen Ryoma, hmm?" Atobe raised his eyebrows. "And why on Earth would you be approaching Hyoutei High instead of Seigaku?"

"Chances are, Ryoma'll be starting at Seigaku High in a year or so," Ryoga replied dryly. "You've met my brother. Do you really think anyone could handle him both at home and at school?"

"…I'm not sure whether anyone could, but I can definitely see how that would be most unpleasant." Atobe smirked a bit. "And are you as much of a tennis phenomenon as your brother?"

Ryoga sighed dramatically. "Sadly, the most of father's genes went to the brats," he declared. "I can play an even match with Taichi here, but I'm afraid he'd triumph in the end."

"He played an even though triumphant match with my appointed heir," Atobe pointed out dryly. "Being able to do the same places you directly in potential regulars."

Taichi flushed in a manner that quite reminded Ryoga of Ryoma, making him suspect that if Taichi had been inclined to wear a cap, he'd have pulled it lower just now. As it was, however, his little brother just tugged at a strand of hair framing his face, trying not to look at Atobe. Cute.

"Unless he's just going easy on me," Ryoga quipped, making his brother look even more awkward. Not that he really believed Taichi would do that; it wasn't his style. "It's just the kind of bratty behaviour that seems to run in the family in the worst way."

"Well, for next year, I've got to warn you I'm not going to put up with that." Atobe smirked a bit, glancing at his current players. "Our resident slacker-off Oshitari can surely tell you that."

"Run while you still can," Oshitari deadpanned, not a bit of his expression betraying that he might not be entirely serious. "You do not want to be stuck with this sadistic bastard."

Whether the warning was serious or not, Ryoga did not run off immediately. He did leave, but not before getting an actual look at the way the Hyoutei club – and especially its regulars – trained. When he finally did leave, it was with the intention to return.

Ryoma would most definitely have a fit.

The thought made Ryoga smirk.

*  
To find Taichi lying on the couch was not really all that rare; certainly, a lot of his time outside school was spent in tennis practice, but when he wasn't training, he was pretty much just your average boy. This was not what caught Ryoga's attention, though; rather, he made note of the fact the kid was all alone.

"What, no boyfriend infestation today?" Though Ryoga was mostly teasing, he was really mildly surprised to have seen no hair nor hide of Akutsu all day, and on a Sunday, too. At the very least, the high school student usually showed up at some point to take Taichi for a walk or to play tennis or something at least. "The two of you had an argument or something?"

"It's not like that," Taichi murmured, looking rather embarrassed, a look he tried his best to conceal by hiding behind a book. He was currently lying with his huge dog curled up over his feet. How he didn't get too hot was well beyond Ryoga. "He had to help his mother with something desu."

"What, the Grumpy Man didn't crawl out from under a stone?" Taichi revealed his face, now, in favour of lifting the book as though about to throw it at him. "Oi, just kidding! I'm just a bit surprised, that's all. He never talks about his family, beyond the fact he doesn't know who his father is."

"There's not much about Jin-senpai's family to say," Taichi replied. "His mother had him in her teens and raised him alone. He calls her all kinds of horrible names but in the end he really does care about her desu."

"I'll take your word for that." He could only just about convince himself that Akutsu cared about Taichi, sometimes, and at least that, he could see with his own two eyes. "I guess even the tough guys have their weak spots... After all, you are one for him."

"I wonder desu." Taichi chuckled faintly. "He certainly seems to be making an effort... I heard from Sengoku-senpai he hasn't gotten into any new fights lately, either." He seemed almost childishly pleased with this. Ryoga wanted to point out that generally, not getting into fights was the norm, but then he knew well enough by now that Akutsu rarely followed any kind of norms.

"That's a good thing, ne?" At least, it sounded like a good thing. After all, Taichi seemed upset whenever Akutsu did get into fights... and Ryoga agreed with Akutsu that any thugs bearing grudges against him also posed a threat to Taichi. A threat he did not approve of. His little brother was supposed to stay safe, damn it.

"...Yes." Taichi smiled. Honestly, the kid had gotten all the cute genes in the family. It probably had something to do with his mother, or something; that was certainly the logical conclusion of him turning out so differently from Ryoma and Ryoga. One could only hope he would rub off on Ryoma eventually. Much though he liked his little brother, the brat could be seriously uncute at times.

"...You know, Chibichibi, you're kind of weird." Walking closer, he pushed Taichi's feet out of the way to take over the other end of the couch, Tomi growling lazily to protest before relocating himself peacefully. "Most people wouldn't give someone like Akutsu the time of the day, but you adore him and always see the good points in him." Reaching out a hand, he ruffled the kid's hair. "...I just hope you won't get disappointed."

"I won't desu," Taichi said confidently. He gave Ryoga a rather serious gaze. "...I know you worry. Anyone who knows Jin-senpai's reputation would desu. He's not exactly the nicest person around." ...Well, if that was not the understatement of the year, Ryoga was almost afraid to hear the other contestants. "But... I know I can trust him. I know he wouldn't hurt me."

"As I said, I hope you don't get disappointed." Ryoga gave him a small grin. "Because if that happens, I'll be morally obligated to make him pay back, and chances are that'd end up with me trying to reattach my limbs, assuming someone helped me gather them up."

"Oh, come on. He's not that bad." Taichi grinned. "I'm sure Jin-senpai would leave you in one piece... if you asked him nicely enough."

"Hey, you know Chibisuke. Does it seem like asking nicely runs in the family? ...Mister Yells At His Senpai?"

At least Taichi didn't try to deny the accusations.


	8. Interlude

Being the single mother of a teenage boy, Yuuki thought for the umpteenth time as she picked up yet another dirty t-shirt to take to the laundry basket, was anything but easy. This doubtlessly went at least double when your son was someone like Jin. She loved her son, but she also held no fancy illusions about him. Jin was a criminal in the making, and with most of her time spent struggling simply to make the ends meet, she just didn't have the time, skills, or energy to correct him. She kept hoping his friends would be a good influence for him, Kawamura-kun was so sweet, but then Jin seemed intent on insisting he had no friends.

Lately, though, she'd noticed some kind of a change in him. Sure, he still came home with bruises and cuts sometimes – she almost felt he was getting hurt worse than before – but somehow, he seemed to be getting less... hostile. She couldn't quite put a finger on it, but there was something different. He came home on time more often, and was more relaxed when he did. Sometimes she spotted him talking on his phone, and though the topics of discussion were entirely everyday from what she could tell from the little bits she heard, he seemed almost embarrassed whenever he noticed her listening. She hadn't even known he knew how to be embarrassed in the first place.

She was almost starting to think he might have found a girlfriend.

Aside from the behaviour, though, she found no other evidence of Jin dating. Of course, it wasn't like she expected him to bring a girlfriend home or even to the cafe, but aside from the strangely embarrassing calls, there was just no indication of one even existing. Whenever she saw him out, it was just with a friend, usually Taichi-kun but sometimes Sengoku-kun, too, and whenever he bothered to answer her enquiries as to where he was going he claimed to be going over to Taichi's place. All this made her delighted, of course; Taichi-kun was so sweet, and she much preferred the thought of Jin going over to spend time with him than his getting into trouble somewhere, but it also left her puzzled. For all that she liked the thought of Jin spending more time with his friends – whether he admitted they were his friends or not – it was a result of whatever change had taken place, not the cause. Also, it most certainly didn't account for the increasing calls or his embarrassment for being caught on the phone. It just didn't make sense.

Perhaps, she thought as she finished picking up the laundry strewn around, she should just stop thinking too much about the matter. Whatever the reason, Jin's attitude was obviously changing for the better. It almost made her feel hopeful about his future. After all the time worrying about what he'd end up doing to himself or others, perhaps he might finally amount to something. She'd just have to keep hoping.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door being opened. She blinked in surprise; it was only the middle of the afternoon, rather too soon for Jin to be home on Sunday. He usually stayed out until late in the evening; even that was an improvement over the worst times in middle school when he had stayed out all night, not returning until morning.

"Welcome home," she called out to him, not really expecting an answer.

"I'm home," she heard a grunted, barely audible response. Well, that was even more surprising. Jin only bothered to play along with the basic pleasantries on a good day, which were getting more frequent, yes, but did not exactly coincide with his coming home at odd times. And for Jin, coming early was very odd indeed.

"You're home early," she said as she headed to the door. "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, well, right enough," Jin replied. "Just had an accident."

"Oh?" She frowned, worried, as she stepped out into the hallway. As she did, though, the meaning of Jin's words became rather apparent. He wasn't alone, for one thing, as it turned out; Taichi-kun was there with him. Not only that, but he was actually carrying both Taichi-kun's tennis bag and the younger boy himself. Taichi-kun looked a bit pale, holding a towel over a bleeding wound on his leg. "Oh, my," Yuuki gasped. "What happened?"

"The kid got too enthusiastic on a stairway and tripped," Jin replied. "Decided to get it clean, and this was closer than his place."

"Please don't look so worried, Yuuki-san!" Taichi-kun said, sounding a bit embarrassed. "Jin-senpai is just overreacting. I can walk just fine desu."

"The Hell you can," Jin grunted. "You'd have bled to death by now."

"You exaggerate, Jin-senpai." Nevertheless, Yuuki couldn't help but notice that the towel he was holding to his leg was getting rather seeped through by blood, so whether the wound was actually bad or not, at the least it was bleeding a lot.

"Get the stuff to clean this," Jin said sharply at her as he passed by her to go to his room, still carrying the smaller boy. Yuuki nodded, hurrying to get the first aid kit that usually saw use only to tend to Jin's own wounds, whenever he didn't just insist there was no need to fuss over what to him amounted to little more than scrapes.

When she got to Jin's room, he had set Taichi-kun sitting on his bed and was inspecting the wound, a frown on his face. Yuuki herself was rather startled by the appearance of the injury; she'd expected some sort of a scrape, not such a deep gash. "That looks pretty bad," she murmured. "Are you sure you shouldn't go to a doctor to have it checked?"

"I've had worse and lived," Jin murmured while starting to clean up the blood. "In any case, got to clean it first."

"Do you need me to help?" Much though she disliked thinking about it, she had become rather good at such things.

"No," came the curt response. "Just leave the stuff and go do what the fucking ever you usually do."

"You shouldn't use such language in front of a kouhai," she sighed, giving Taichi-kun an apologetic glance. The kid responded with a slight smile that turned into a grimace as Jin's touch apparently stung at the wound.

"Like he hasn't heard it all before." Jin didn't even look at her, his eyes concentrated on examining the wound.

"...Still." She shook her head. "...Just call out if you need me."

"Yeah, yeah, scurry off now."

Sighing again, she left the room. Really, Jin was such a rude kid sometimes; he was lucky he had such patient friends. She couldn't help but be slightly worried about Taichi-kun, though. The boy was doing his best to look brave, but she'd seen enough wounds to know it wasn't just a simple scratch.

Trying to occupy herself, she started to make tea. By the time it was done, the situation would hopefully be clearer.

After a little while, Yuuki set the tea and some treats on a tray, taking it towards Jin's room. At the door she paused, listening. The door had been left a bit ajar, allowing the voices to drift into the hallway. She honestly didn't mean to eavesdrop, but the tone in Jin's voice made her hesitate to interrupt.

"Oh, be quiet." It wasn't the friendliest tone to most, but from Jin it was almost... gentle. She certainly hadn't heard him talk so softly in ages.

"But I'm causing you so much trouble desu," murmured Taichi-kun with a teary voice. "And just as we were going to play tennis, too..."

"Not like you can play with your leg cut open, idiot." ...Jin really had something to learn about comforting. "...Don't give me that face, Taichi."

Yuuki leant a bit closer, peeking in through the little crack the door was open. Her eyes widened. Taichi-kun was still sitting on the bed, his poor leg stretched out. Jin, however, was no more crouching down in front of him, instead leaning over him, looking the smaller boy in the eye.

As she watched, Jin raised a hand to cup Taichi-kun's face, leaning even closer, pressing a light kiss on the younger boy's mouth. Taichi-kun seemed far from protesting, instead leaning closer.

Yuuki couldn't help but gasp in surprise. The boys froze almost instantly, then slowly pulled apart before Jin stood up straight, throwing a glare her way. "...Come on out."

"Ah... I just came to bring some tea," Yuuki said, trying to regain some of her composure as she pushed the door open properly. "I didn't mean to... interrupt." She couldn't help but notice that Taichi-kun seemed to be shrinking back as though afraid of her reaction.

"Yeah, well, you did." Jin seemed to be settling himself between Taichi and her like a protective barrier. "That a fucking problem?"

"Ah – no. No, not at all." She had never really thought about it; it had always been so... clear... that Jin would prefer girls. However, for all that Taichi-kun was small and cute, he was most definitely not a girl. She didn't really know how she felt about this all, but... she did know she would never abandon her son for something like that. Setting the tray on Jin's rather cluttered desk, she turned to look at Taichi-kun. The poor kid was blushing, now. "Ah... how is your leg?"

"...It seems worse than I thought." She couldn't really tell anymore; Jin had bandaged it rather effectively. "I'm sure it will be all right in the end, though."

"It'd probably be the best if you did get it checked out," she murmured. "Can you get someone to pick you up or something?" From what she'd seen from the wound, it probably wouldn't do any good for him to walk anywhere.

"Ah... I should probably call my brother desu." The boy averted his eyes. Right. She remembered now Jin mentioning that he had some trouble with his family.

"...Right." She did her best to smile at him. "Have some tea now, at least. You must be feeling a bit weak after losing all that blood."

"He'll be fine," Jin said, sounding almost reassuring, if that was even possible for him. "Takes more than one scrape to stop that amount of sheer pigheadedness."

"That's not a very nice thing to say about your boyfriend, Jin." She was quite surprised to see something that almost amounted to a slight flush on his face at the comment. "Aw, did I embarrass you?"

"Get lost, hag," grunted her son. However, the almost perhaps just a bit flushed look stayed on his face even as she hurried out of the room, smiling.

Perhaps all hope wasn't lost after all.

*

Jin certainly didn't visit the café too often. Even when he did, it was usually to ask her for money, certainly not to drop by with a friend. Especially such a special friend.

"Ah, good afternoon," Yuuki greeted the two as she hurried to take their order. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better, Taichi-kun~"

"It's all thanks to Jin-senpai," Taichi-kun replied, smiling a bit. "He's been taking good care of me desu~"

"Well, someone has to make sure the idiot doesn't get too excited and rip the wound open again." Jin rolled his eyes before making an order, silencing Taichi-kun's comments with a glare. However, the younger boy didn't seem to protest as Jin ordered some chocolate cake for him.

However much her curiosity was bothering her, Yuuki did her best not to bother the two boys, only coming back to bring their order before returning to her work elsewhere. She kept an eye on them from further away, though, wanting to see how Jin acted around Taichi-kun. She hadn't seen the two together too often, after all.

She was somewhat surprised to see that Jin looked almost... happy. He wasn't smirking condescendingly or laughing at someone, now, he was just smiling, smiling and looking at Taichi-kun with eyes that were almost too soft to be his. The younger boy didn't seem to notice anything strange with this, merely talking excitedly, apparently enjoying the cake.

The sound of Jin's laughter caught her ear as she passed by some time later. She couldn't even remember when she'd last heard him laugh like that. It just... wasn't like him. He hadn't laughed that happily in years, at least.

She wasn't sure exactly what Taichi-kun had said. Glancing towards them, seeing the look on Jin's face, she wasn't sure if it was actually a matter of the words.

She was still watching after they paid and left, apparently bickering about some matter or another, their tones sharper than before but still more or less affectionate. Her eyes caught Jin's hand settling briefly on Taichi-kun's shoulder as they left the café, and she felt strangely... warm.

Maybe Jin wasn't such a lost case after all.

"You know that boy? The one with bleached hair?"

Yuuki blinked, surprised at the sudden question. The one who had asked it was looking at her. Mokoyama-san, she remembered, one of the more regular customers, a slightly rough-looking but rather nice man. "Ah, yes," she answered, slightly flustered at her own surprise. "He's my son, Jin." Even as she spoke, she was starting to worry. Someone aksing about Jin usually meant they had something negative to say about him.

"Ah." The man nodded. "I've seen him around my shop pretty often."

"Oh?" Definitely worrying, now. "He – he hasn't been any trouble, has he?" Why did she even bother to ask?

"No, not at all." How sad was it that this answer quite surprised her? "He's mainly been just looking. I've got a repair shop, you see," the man added. "Your boy seems interested in the machines."

"Ah, yes, Jin is like that," she replied, hugely relieved. It was certainly nice to know Jin could sometimes behave himself. "He's interested in bikes and the like, he's such a typical young boy... But I'll tell him not to bother you anymore," she hurried to add. After all, he had to have some kind of a complaint to make.

"I told you, it's no bother." He paused, then added, "Actually, I thought I'd ask you if he has a part-time job."

Yuuki blinked. "No, he doesn't," she replied. "Nobody wants to hire someone who looks like such a thug, and he isn't interested enough to change..."

"Yeah, well, I'm not interested in his face, I want to know if his hands work." The man sipped at his tea. "Most kids who like bikes will learn pretty quick how to fix them, too, and my current part-timer quit on me."

"You mean... you'd give him a job?" That sounded almost too good to be true. And if it was tinkering with bikes, he might actually be interested enough not to mess everything up.

"If he's as interested in working as he's in watching, sure." The man nodded. "Thought he'd like a closer look." He then smiled at her. "If he's anything like you, I could do worse."

"Well, he is a troublesome child at times," she admitted, feeling obligated to warn him at least that much. "But overall he's a good kid, it's just sometimes hard to get him to keep his interest in things. He gets bored when he's not challenged enough." As seen easily enough from all the sports he'd tried and abandoned. She was quite glad he was getting back into tennis, even though it was apparently more a case of being interested in Taichi than in the sport itself.

"I think I might manage to keep him challenged," Mokoyama-san said. "Can't know until I try, right?"

Yuuki found herself smiling at him. "I would be greatly in your debt," she said. "I've been hoping Jin would find something to grasp on."

"If I can make a worker out of him, I'll be the one owing you." He returned her smile. "I'll at least ask him and see how it goes, eh?"

For all the despair Yuuki had gone through in her years, suddenly she felt almost hopeful for her son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of this particular work. I'm writing a new story with the basic premise, but that will be posted on its own, not as part of this series.


End file.
